If you have been in a car accident while on the clock, you may be able to bring either a personal injury claim or a workers’ compensation claim. The latter covers the majority of job-related car crashes. But you may also want to consider an injury lawsuit. Typically, a personal injury claim can provide you with greater compensation than what you might get through a workers’ comp claim. You can explore more about this when you check the details as stated here.
Personal Injury vs Workers’ Compensation
Personal injury claims are lawsuits that victims can bring against a negligent party. In car accidents, such claims are usually pursued against a negligent driver. But to bring an injury claim successfully, the victim should prove the negligent action of the other driver resulted in the accident and the injuries sustained.
Meanwhile, workers’ comp is a program that lets employees who sustain a workplace injury seek compensation for their lost income and medical expenses. The worker should prove their injury is work-related.
Both personal injury claims and workers’ comp claims provide various kinds of compensation. A successful workers’ comp claim allows a worker to recover benefits for their medical bills due to the accident. Also, they will get income benefits if they cannot work or have to work a job that pays less than their original job.
Personal injury claims let claimants recover compensation for both economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages include medical bills, lost income, and property damage while non-economic damages include pain and suffering.
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Workers’ Comp Coverage for Car Accidents
A lot of car accidents are job-related, but some issues can arise. First, workers’ comp benefits are only for employees. Thus, those classified as independent contractors can’t get this coverage for car accidents. In addition, some car crashes do not fall under the scope of the workers’ comp program. For instance, workers’ comp does not consider workers’ commutes as job-related. Thus, workers who sustained injuries in a car crash that happened during their commute may not qualify for workers’ compensation benefits.
But they can still bring a personal injury claim against the driver who caused the accident. An employee may qualify for benefits after being in a car accident when the incident happened while they are running a work-related errand, traveling for a job-related reason, making a delivery, or traveling to different worksites. If you sustained injuries after being involved in a serious car collision, you may be wondering if you can seek workers’ comp coverage or pursue an injury claim. You can get reliable answers from a skilled attorney.