Work-related motor vehicle accidents

Work-Related Motor Vehicle Accident Claims

Representing Injured Workers in Los Angeles

If your job requires you to drive a vehicle often – or even just now and then – you should be given workers’ compensation benefits if you ever get into a work-related motor vehicle accident. However, insurance companies and employers often try to argue that car accidents aren’t their responsibility because the driver should have been more careful when around traffic and pedestrians. This argument is more about saving the company money than it is about doing what is right, though.

To get legal help seeking workers’ comp benefits after a work-related crash, come to the Barkhordarian Law Firm in Los Angeles. Our attorneys have a long history of protecting the rights of injured workers in our city who had their workers’ comp claims wrongfully denied. We would be happy to extend our professional services to you, too.

We can help workers from all sorts of industries, such as:

• Firefighters
• Police officers
• Mail couriers
• Food delivery drivers
• Construction workers
• Uber and taxi drivers

Who Pays for a Work-Related Car Accident?

Work-related motor vehicle accidents are similar to yet also notably unlike other car accidents. Specifically, the compensation that you receive to care for your injuries and replace your wages could come from more than one source.

You might be able to file two claims after a work-related motor vehicle accident:

• Workers’ compensation: As long as you were driving a vehicle for a work-related duty, you should be able to seek workers’ compensation benefits if you were in a crash while operating that vehicle. Be it a bulldozer, mailvan, limousine, patrol car, or any other type of vehicle that you drive for work, workers’ compensation should be available after a wreck, even if you are in a single-vehicle accident.
• Personal injury: If you were driving while working and a third-party driver hit you or caused your accident, then you might be able to seek compensation through a personal injury claim filed against their insurance policy. This is commonly known as a third-party claim.

Importantly, you cannot file a workers’ compensation claim and a personal injury claim if the other party is related to your employer or employment. For example, if you were delivering food to a customer and a stranger hit you, then you might be able to sue them and get workers’ compensation. But if you were leaving the fire station in your engine when another firefighter crashes their engine into you, workers’ compensation will be your only option.

Also, you cannot “double-dip” for financial coverage by filing a workers’ comp claim and personal injury claim for the same damages. Imagine that your workers’ compensation benefits covered all of your medical treatment costs, as they normally should. In that situation, you cannot seek medical treatment costs in a personal injury claim filed against a third-party driver because they have already been covered. Our attorneys can help you understand what sort of compensation will be available to you, depending on how to proceed with your case.

We’re Here to Support Drivers in All Occupations

Call our Los Angeles work vehicle accident attorneys at 888-514-5112 at any time after being in a crash. The sooner we get to work on your case, the better. Also, you likely have only 30 days to report your accident to your employer, so waiting too long is not an option. We’re here to help with your claim from start to finish, including if we have to challenge a denial.