Amazon Flex Drivers With Head Injuries

Chicago Lawyers for Injured Delivery Workers

Amazon Flex is a program in which Amazon pays drivers to deliver packages for it. Amazon Flex drivers with head injuries may be eligible for workers’ compensation if their injuries occurred while on the job. Where the head injuries result from a vehicle accident caused by someone else, you may be able to recover damages through a third-party lawsuit. At Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca, our Chicago workers’ compensation attorneys represent delivery drivers in workers’ compensation and personal injury cases.

Amazon Flex Drivers with Head Injuries

Head injuries include any type of injury to the brain, scalp or skull. They include hematoma, concussion, hemorrhage, skull fracture, and diffuse axonal injury. If you sustained a head injury while on the job as an Amazon Flex driver, you may be able to obtain workers’ compensation benefits. If a third party (not your employer or coworker) caused your head injuries in an accident, you may be able to sue for compensation in a third-party lawsuit.

Workers’ Compensation

Workers’ compensation is a system that was designed to allow workers to recover compensation more readily than the civil court system. It is a no-fault system, meaning you can recover damages regardless of who is to blame for your head injuries. Almost every employer in Illinois is required to obtain workers’ compensation insurance or self-insurance status. Workers’ compensation will pay for the medical costs of job-related injuries and diseases, and coverage starts as soon as you begin a job. You can obtain workers’ compensation insurance benefits even if your job-related head injury happened on the first day of work.

Benefits you may be able to obtain include medical treatment, rehabilitation expenses, vocational rehabilitation, temporary total disability benefits, temporary partial disability benefits, permanent partial disability benefits, or permanent total disability benefits. Temporary total disability benefits might be appropriate if you suffered a concussion that requires several weeks to recover. It is paid at 2/3 of your average gross weekly wage if you’re not able to work while recovering from the concussion. On the other hand, if you suffer a traumatic brain injury and can no longer drive or participate in vocational rehabilitation to work in another position, you may be able to obtain permanent total disability benefits. These entitle you to a weekly benefit of 2/3 of your average weekly wage for life. These tax-free benefits have maximum and minimum limits. They may be awarded when your doctor believes that you’ve reached maximum medical improvement and recommends it, or where you have completed rehabilitation and a job search, yet are unable to find employment.

Third Party Claims

In some cases, an Amazon Flex driver may sustain a head injury in a vehicle accident caused by a third party such as another driver, property owner, or car manufacturer. The Amazon Flex driver may be able to bring a third-party claim against that party for damages. This is helpful because workers’ compensation benefits are limited to just a portion of a worker’s economic losses arising out of an injury. A third-party lawsuit allows you the opportunity to seek noneconomic losses in addition to full economic losses. If you can establish third-party liability for your head injuries, you may be able to obtain medical bills, lost income, replacement services, rehabilitation expenses, out-of-pocket expenses, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment.

In a third-party lawsuit against another driver, you will need to show it’s more likely than not: (1) the other driver owed you a duty of reasonable care, (2) breach of the duty to use reasonable care, (3) causation, and (4) actual damages. Depending on the circumstances, other theories may be used to establish liability. Amazon flex drivers with head injuries should consult with a lawyer so that they can be fully compensated for their injuries, particularly when multiple parties may be liable.

Consult an Experienced Workers’ Compensation Attorney in Chicago

If you are an Amazon Flex driver who sustained a concussion or other work-related head injury, you should review your situation with the seasoned lawyers of Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca. We represent drivers in Chicago, Quincy, Rockford, Aurora, and Champaign, along with Cook, Adams, Winnebago, Kane, and Sangamon Counties. Contact us at 312-724-5846 or complete our online form.