Nearly every employer is required by state law to provide workers’ compensation insurance for their employees. If you are injured in an accident at work, you will probably be entitled to workers’ compensation from your employer. Workers’ compensation benefits usually cover medical fees, missed wages or salaries during the recovery period, and legal fees incurred if a lawsuit was involved. You may not claim compensation for intangible damages such as pain and suffering; that would be a totally different scenario, probably involving personal injury lawsuits.
So, if you got into a road accident may be on your way to work or within the workplace property, would you be entitled to workers’ compensation. Well, maybe – depending on how the accident happened and most importantly, whether it was work-related.
Claiming Workers Compensation after a Road Accident
Worker compensation laws may differ from state to state; for instance, workers’ compensation Maitland FL may be different from Washington’s or New York’s workers’ compensation. But the fundamental principles are more or less the same. The key term when it comes to workers’ compensation is “work-related accident” so it doesn’t really matter whether it was a road accident or not. However, in order to receive workers’ compensation, the accident must have been work-related.
If you go into a car accident while driving due to work-related reasons, you may be entitled to workers’ compensation. Some of the work-related reasons may include:
- Running job errands
- Making deliveries
- Driving other employees
- Your employer pays for your driving time
- Driving is part of the job
You may not claim compensation if the accident occurred as you drove to or from work unless your travelling time is paid by your employer or is part of the job description. However, if you made a detour from your regular route to do some work-related tasks when the accident occurred, you may be entitled to claim workers’ compensation.
Matters involving lawsuits can be complicated if you don’t have comprehensive knowledge of your state laws. Always talk to your lawyer whenever you get into an accident to work out the best course of action and your legal responsibility.