Truck drivers are prone to work hazards considering the environment they’re exposed to every day. It is just a natural part of what they do. Due to the nature of their job, it’s surprising that the largest number of work-related injuries for truckers has something to do with road accidents.
Other causes include loading and unloading cargo, repetitive motion, and sitting for long hours. Getting injured means medical expenses and missed workdays. Good thing a trucker can get compensation for many of these injuries. Truck Driver Rights in Washington cites some legal options for truckers by which a truck labor attorney can help.
Worker’s Compensation
All employers in Washington State need to have workers’ compensation insurance for all their workers. This includes truckers. A trucker can make a claim for some injuries. Workers’ compensation is a no-fault insurance. This means a trucker can file a claim even if he or she was negligent, as long as it happened while on the job. The insurer will pay for medical expenses and lost pay for qualified work-related injury.
Personal Injury Claim
The trucker can also file a personal injury lawsuit. This is in case the injury was a result of the negligence of another person or company. For example, you got into an accident because of defective brakes or another truck part. The trucker can sue the manufacturer for the injury.
The same applies if another driver caused the accident. Truckers can do this and make a claim for workers’ comp at the same time. However, the trucker must prove fault in a personal injury claim. This is not easy without the help of an experienced personal injury lawyer.
Social Security Disability
Some injuries take a long time to heal. In such cases, the trucker may make a disability claim with Social Security. This is in addition to workers’ comp and any personal injury claims. The Social Security Disability Insurance gives financial assistance for work-related injuries if these will keep the trucker from working for at least a year. The trucker needs to submit many documents to prove that the injury is real.
Even then, only about one-third of claims are successful. A lawyer can help improve those chances.
A work-related injury for truckers is no joke. It means no work and no pay, as well as medical expenses. A Washington truck labor attorney can walk an injured through the legal processes involved in getting a fair compensation.