Car Accidents on the Job

Overview
Anyone who has spent time on the road in Central Florida has surely seen one of the numerous delivery trucks, eighteen-wheelers or one of the many other vehicles associated with local and national businesses. As our community expands and grows, so do our traffic numbers. This heightened congestion leads to more car accidents. Furthermore, when an accident involved an on-the-job driver, the ensuing legal procedure becomes more complicated.
In Florida, if you are involved in a car accident while on the job, workers’ compensation serves as the primary source of compensation for lost wages in medical treatment. Basically, if someone is involved in a car accident at work while driving is one of their work duties, workers’ compensation is responsible for the cost of the resulting medical care as well as the lost wages. This is a different procedure from a standard car accident, where a driver’s PIP (Personal Injury Protection) insurance may cover the necessary medical care.

Advantages
In addition to the workers’ compensation claim, in accidents involving serious injury, the injured worker would also be able to pursue a personal injury claim against the driver who was at fault. It is recommended the injured worker pursues both a workers’ compensation and personal injury claim. By pursuing both, the personal injury claim will cover additional costs that the workers’ compensation claim would not pay on its own, such as the cost of pain and suffering.
Additionally, Florida is a “no-fault” state. This means that in a standard car accident, regardless of fault, each person’s PIP insurance will provide for medical care and/or lost wages up to the maximum amount of coverage available ($10,000 with a 20% deductible). However, for accidents involving an on-the-job driver, there is no monetary limit for the amount of support a workers’ compensation claim may provide. This is true even if the on-the-job driver is at fault, employee negligence does not negate receiving benefits if injured on the job.

Examples of Driving on the Job
There are many tasks that may qualify as on-the-job driving. Here are a few examples of on the job driving that would be acceptable for a workers’ compensation claim.

• Driving a car/truck for a delivery service.
• Running errands for your boss.
• Driving to deliver something to a client.
• Driving clients on work-related trips.
• Traveling for work or a work-related reason, such as purchasing office supplies.

Important Advice

• Talk to an attorney before visiting the doctor. If you visit a doctor who is not a workers’ compensation authorized physician you will have to pay the medical bill from your personal settlement, opposed to having it compensated for in your claim.
• Talk to an attorney who works in both areas of the law, car accidents and workers’ compensation, so that they may navigate the system properly and benefit you the most.

If you or someone you know has been injured in a car accident while on the job, contact experienced attorney Frank Eidson, P.A. now. Frank has been working in Central Florida on both car accident and workers’ compensation cases out of his own firm since 1989 and will fight for the compensation you deserve. Contact us by calling 407-315-2764 (toll free: 888-245-2855) for a free case review. You may also email Frank personally at frank@frankeidson.com or visit his office at 327 N. Orange Ave, Orlando, FL, 32801.