If you’re injured in a car accident while driving to or from work or while carrying out a duty at your supervisor’s request, then you’re probably wondering what’s the best way to recover compensation to offset your losses. After all, the damage caused in a car accident can be severe, leaving you with the need for ongoing medical treatment and rehabilitative care. You’ll also require compensation to help cover the wages you’ve lost due to missing work. All of this, combined with the stress and emotional turmoil of your recovery, can leave you feeling completely overwhelmed.
While you might be able to pursue a personal injury lawsuit against the individual who caused your wreck, you should consider whether you’re warranted in pursuing workers’ compensation benefits. This may be an easier avenue to secure the compensation you need and deserve, since it doesn’t require a showing of fault. That said, only certain circumstances will justify seeking workers’ compensation benefits.
When can you seek workers’ compensation benefits for a car accident?
Before you can secure workers’ compensation benefits, you have to be able to show that your injuries were “work-related.” As a result, the analysis as to whether your accident is covered by workers’ compensation is very fact specific. That said, here are some circumstances that may qualify you for workers’ compensation benefits following a car accident:
- Your employer asks you to run an errand for them.
- Your job requires you to make deliveries.
- Your job requires you to transport a client to another location.
- Your employer asks you drive another employee to a worksite.
- Your entire job revolves around driving for the benefit of your employer.
- You engage in other travel as part of your job and are paid for that travel.
While these qualifying characteristics give you a lot of coverage when it comes to workers’ compensation benefits, there are limitations. In the vast majority of cases, workers’ compensation does not extend protection to accidents that occur when you’re simply driving to and from work at the beginning and end of your day.
Can you seek workers’ compensation benefits and file a personal injury lawsuit?
If your wreck was caused by the negligence of a third-party, and you were performing a work-related activity at the time, then you might be in a position where you can seek workers’ compensation benefits and funds through a personal injury lawsuit. This will ensure that you recover the full extent of your damages, since workers’ compensation benefits can sometimes fall short of compensating you for the full extent of your losses.
Be sure to gather strong evidence to support your claim
A workers’ compensation claim isn’t automatically going to result in the payment of benefits. In fact, a lot of insurance companies try to deny these claims. So, as you work to build your workers’ compensation case, be sure to gather evidence that supports your position. This can include looking at your job description, gathering communications with your employer that directs you to drive somewhere and accumulating your medical and employment records. By being thorough and organized, you’ll hopefully increase your chances of recovering the benefits needed to set you on the course to recovery.
Do you have lingering questions about how workers’ compensation applies to your car accident?
If so, then now may be a good time to discuss the facts of your situation with an attorney who is well-versed in workers’ compensation claims. That way you can find answers to your questions and develop a legal strategy that protects your interests and your ability to reclaim your pre-accident life.