Death Benefits for Uber Drivers

Chicago Law Firm for Death Benefits for Uber Drivers

Uber drivers are regularly confronted with the serious risks that motor vehicle accidents present. As the spouse or other family member of an Uber driver, you may have been told that you have no recourse against Uber because your loved one had been classified as an independent contractor by the rideshare company. However, in Illinois, there is a presumption that a worker is an employee. As such, when an Uber driver is fatally injured on the job, certain family members may be entitled to death benefits. If you are concerned about death benefits for Uber drivers, along with other remedies that may be available to you after you lose a loved one in a work-related accident, you should talk to the seasoned Chicago workers compensation lawyers of Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca.

Showing Your Deceased Loved One Was an Employee of Uber

Employees are entitled to bring claims for benefits under the Illinois Worker’s Compensation Act. When a company’s employee passes away in a job related accident, certain family members can pursue workers’ compensation benefits such as death benefits, possibly along with other relief. Death benefits are one type of workers’ compensation benefits. As the family member of a rideshare driver who died on the job, you may face a denial of your claim for death benefits.

Illinois courts follows the ABC test. This means when you bring a claim for death benefits, Uber, not you, bears the burden of showing your spouse was not an employee at a workers’ compensation hearing. It will need to prove certain factors when your claim is before an arbitrator at the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. In many instances, our attorneys will be able to show an Uber driver was an employee in spite of how he or she was misclassified.

Death Benefits for Uber Drivers

You can receive death benefits if you survived an Uber driver killed in a work-related accident as his or her spouse. Likewise, death benefits are paid to the Uber driver’s minor child. The death benefit can be paid for the greater of 25 years or $500,000.

Death benefits are calculated at two thirds of a worker’s average weekly wage. Calculating an Uber driver’s average weekly wage can be particularly difficult for loved ones. You may not be quite sure how many hours your loved one was driving, particularly if they worked two jobs, which some Uber drivers do. In some cases, Uber challenges the amount of death benefits claimed by asserting the worker was paid less than the average weekly wage claimed, and that the death benefits should be less than what you’ve claimed. A driver’s average weekly wage can be calculated in different ways in Illinois workers’ compensation claims. We can help make sure you obtain the full amount of benefits to which you’re entitled as a spouse or minor child of an Uber driver.

Burial Expenses Benefit

In addition to death benefits that cover a portion of an Uber driver’s wages, the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act provides for funeral and burial expenses. This benefit can go towards funeral and burial expenses for the deceased worker up to a certain amount. The costs of your loved one’s funeral and burial may also be covered if we establish another party’s liability in a wrongful death.

Wrongful Death Lawsuit

We may be able to obtain workers compensation benefits on your behalf as the spouse or minor child of a deceased Uber driver who was fatally injured on the job. In most cases, however, more compensation can be recovered by filing a wrongful death lawsuit in an Illinois court. A third party lawsuit would be appropriate, for example, if your loved one died in a truck accident caused by a negligent truck driver. It’s important to be aware that Uber and its insurance carrier will have subrogation rights that can complicate your situation and legal interests.

Hire a Chicago Law Firm for Death Benefits

It can be challenging for a loved one to obtain death benefits for an Uber driver. In addition to encountering resistance from Uber from the outset as to whether the driver was its employee, you may also face a battle with insurers about calculation of his or her average weekly wage and therefore the amount of the death benefit. You may be not only grieving for your deceased loved one, but also trying to address concerns about how your family will survive into the future without the income provided by Uber. Our Chicago attorneys also represent Uber drivers in Champaign, Rockford, Quincy, and Aurora, as well as Sangamon, Winnebago, Kane, Cook, and Adams Counties. Call us at 312-724-5846 or complete our online form.