If you work as a truck driver and you have had the misfortune to have an accident while at work, you may be eligible for workers’ compensation. Working in the transportation industry is one of the most dangerous jobs in the country. In many cases when injured a truck driver can file an application for workers’ compensation because the truck company has worker’s compensation insurance to cover its truck drivers for sickness and injuries while out on the road. If you are eligible to receive WC you should get your medical expenses paid, a proportion of your weekly earnings and rehabilitation costs if required before returning to work as a truck driver. What to Do Before Filing for Workers’ Compensation As soon as you have been involved in an accident while driving your truck, you should inform your supervisor or employer as soon as you are able to. The faster you file the WC claim the faster you will be able to gain from the WC benefits. If you delay filing a report your truck company and its WC insurer are likely to be more skeptical of the validity of your claim. This doesn’t mean you should delay much needed medical treatment but this should be a priority. Filing Your Workers’ Compensation Report As soon as you have submitted your accident report with your supervisor or employer a form will be sent to you for you to fill in. Just so your employer and its insurer don’t doubt your claim you should include as much evidence as you can to prove the injury took place while you were on the job. This could include all or any of the following: • your doctor’s diagnosis and treatment plan; • photos taken by you or fellow truck drivers and surveillance camera footage (if available) taken at the accident site; • receipts for medical treatment you have already paid for; • witnesses written reports proving your injury took place while working as a truck driver; • a police report of the truck accident if you were out on the road. As soon as the form filling has been completed and you have included the relevant documentation you should hand in the form to your employer who should forward it to its local workers’ comp. insurer. If your employer fails to respond to your request for workers’ compensation, you should consider contacting the closest workers’ comp office. An officer will be assigned to your case who will make contact with your employer and attempt to get a response in relation to your worker’s compensation claim. After You File Your Workers’ Compensation Report On receipt of your employer’s workers’ compensation report the insurer will conduct its own investigation into the accident which includes the assessment of any evidence that has been provided which proves that backs up that the injury happened in an accident while you were in charge of your truck. Once your claim has been approved the benefits should be processed and sent to you. Sometimes, insurers deny WC claims based on insufficient evidence that the accident took place while you were driving a truck. If this does take place you may be able to lodge an appeal with your local Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board. A hearing will be arranged where a judge will hear the case and instruct the employer’s insurer to pay worker’s compensation if it finds the claim is valid. Contact a Workers’ Comp. Lawyer Because workers’ comp. claims are never easy to win it is a good idea to seek help from an attorney who can help you get your claim on the right track.
