Vehicle Accidents on the Job

Year after year, vehicle accidents are the leading cause of work-related injuries and fatalities in the U.S. The hazard of a vehicle accident on the job affects millions of workers in all kinds of occupations. A delivery driver may be involved in a highway collision. A worker may be struck by a vehicle or piece of motorized equipment. An emergency responder may be injured in a rollover accident.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a Massachusetts vehicle accident on the job, you should consult an experienced Massachusetts workers’ compensation attorney about the benefits you are entitled to receive, including lost wages, medical treatment expenses and vocational rehabilitation costs as a result of a work-related vehicle accident.

Kantrovitz & Associates, P.C. has more than 20 years experience fighting for the rights of individuals injured in the course of their employment. The workplace injury attorneys at Kantrovitz & Associates, P.C. exclusively represent individuals injured in the course of their employment, providing individual attention to every client we represent.

Based in Boston, Massachusetts, our workplace accident lawyers help injured workers across Massachusetts, including but not limited to Boston, Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Plymouth and Merrimack River. We also represent Rhode Island and New Hampshire residents whose injuries occurred in Massachusetts or who were hired in Massachusetts but who were injured out of state.

For a free, no obligation evaluation of your vehicle accident on the job, please complete our online form or call us toll free at 800-367-0871.

Vehicle Accidents and Workers’ Compensation

Vehicle accidents accounted for about 40 percent of all fatal work accidents in 2009, according to federal labor statistics. Not every accident involving a vehicle qualifies as a work-related injury or fatality. For example, if you are commuting to and from your office on a typical work day commute, and have an accident on the way, that typically does not qualify as a work-related vehicle accident. However, if you are a delivery route driver and have an accident, that would entitle you to workers’ compensation no matter who is at fault. Accidents involving truck drivers, including delivery service drivers and tractor-trailer drivers, account for a large portion of vehicle accidents on the job. Work related injuries while driving are classified as “risk of street claims”. There are many exceptions to the general rules. That being said, you should always check with a qualified workers’ compensation attorney if injured in a vehicle accident.

About 1,350 workers die each year in vehicle accidents on the job on public highways, including auto accidents on the job and truck accidents. Another 325 die in crashes off the highway or on industrial premises, based on labor statistics from 2002 through 2008. About 350 pedestrians die in work-related vehicle accidents. Many vehicle accidents on the job cause neck and back injuries, foot and ankle injuries, knee, shoulder and elbow injuries and closed head injuries.

What Disability Benefits Are Available for Auto Accidents on the Job?

If you suffered an incapacitating injury in a vehicle accident on the job, you may be eligible for temporary total disability, partial disability, or permanent and total incapacity. Employee supplemental workers’ compensation benefits are determined by several factors including your average weekly wage and your degree of incapacity from a workplace injury. A knowledgeable workplace injuries attorney can review your vehicle accident and advise you about which benefits you may claim.

If you are involved in a vehicle related accident while working, and the accident is as a result of the negligence of another driver, you may also have a third-party law suit and collect damages against the negligent driver.

Why You Need a Workers’ Compensation Attorney

The Massachusetts’ workers’ compensation system is set up to ensure that employees who are injured or disabled by workplace injuries such as vehicle accidents receive benefits while they are incapacitated. All employees have legal rights to workers’ compensation for work-related injuries. Yet, employees often have trouble obtaining their full workers’ compensation benefits, even though Massachusetts has a no-fault workers’ compensation system. The insurance company may deny your injury was caused by a vehicle accident.

At the hearing to decide your workers’ compensation claim, the employer’s insurance company will have a lawyer arguing on their behalf. You should too. You should have an experienced workers’ compensation attorney standing up for your legal right to benefits for workplace-related illness.

Contact Our Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Attorneys Today

The experienced workers’ compensation attorneys at Kantrovitz & Associates, P.C. can advise you on the best strategy for obtaining workers’ compensation benefits after a vehicle accident on the job. While many Massachusetts lawyers practice in a number of different areas of the law, our firm concentrates exclusively in the area of workers compensation.

Our firm believes in a proactive educational approach to the law. Each client is an active participant in all facets of their case. Our workplace accident lawyers do not pass off cases to other Massachusetts law firms or to junior associates. A client will have the same attorney handling his or her claim from start to conclusion.

Our workers’ compensation attorneys handle claims for Massachusetts workers who were injured in Massachusetts or while working out of state. We also represent Rhode Island and New Hampshire residents whose injuries occurred in Massachusetts or who were hired in Massachusetts but injured out of state.

For a free, no obligation evaluation of your workers’ compensation claim, contact the workers’ compensation lawyers at Kantrovitz & Associates online or call us toll free at 800-367-0871.

Remember that if you hire a workers’ compensation attorney because you have been denied benefits, Massachusetts’ workers’ compensation law states that the workers’ compensation insurer will pay the majority of your attorneys’ fees.