Initial Claims for Injured Amazon Flex Drivers

Workers’ Compensation Lawyers for Chicago Employees

As an Amazon Flex driver, you can be hurt on the job in many different ways. You may be injured because of a vehicle accident. Or, you may sustain injuries while loading or unloading a package, or while bringing it to a doorstep. Any injury you sustain on the job may result in medical bills and the need to take time off work. Most people don’t have enough saved in case of disability. If you have an employment relationship with the company you work for, you may be able to claim workers’ compensation benefits. If you need guidance regarding initial claims for injured Amazon Flex drivers, you can contact an experienced Chicago workers’ compensation attorney. At Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca, we may be able to help you.

Initial Claims for Injured Amazon Flex Drivers

If you can establish that you are an Amazon employee rather than an independent contractor, you may be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. In the event of a work injury, you should notify your employer right away. This reduces the risk that your insurer will argue that your injury isn’t work-related. Even if you can’t let Amazon know about your injury immediately because you’re hospitalized, you have 45 days to report the injury to your supervisor or manager. If you don’t report the injury to your employer within the 45 day-window, you could lose your entitlement to benefits. Although you can give verbal notice, it is wise to give written notice so you have a record of what you said and when you provided notification. You should accurately describe what caused you to be injured and the nature of the injuries in your written notification.

In some cases, Amazon Flex drivers sustain cumulative injuries due to repetitive motion. In that case, you should provide written notice as soon as you realize you’ve been harmed and the injury was caused by or connected to your work.

You should also seek medical care as soon as you can after a workplace accident and follow any recommendations provided by your doctor. You’ll need medical documentation in case you need to file a claim with the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. A dedicated work injury lawyer can help you compile all relevant documentation for your claim.

Accident Reports

Your employer will need to notify its workers’ compensation insurer to process your claim. The insurer will investigate your claim, including any medical records related to the injury. It will look at any evidence presented in connection with a workplace accident, including any incident reports. Even though workers’ compensation is a no-fault system, you should be accurate about both your injuries and the nature of the accident in an incident report.

Acceptance or Denial of Your Claim

If you are denied benefits, you should be given a written explanation as to why. Workers’ compensation claims are often denied because of a failure to provide notice within 45 days or the employer’s claim that this notice wasn’t provided, disbelief about the medical treatment you claim is necessary, or the alleged role of a preexisting condition.

Application for Adjustment of Claim

When a workers’ compensation claim is denied, an Application for Adjustment of Claim should be filed with the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. The Application should also be served on your employer. A case number and an arbitrator will be assigned to your claim. The Application must be filed within 3 years of the date of your work injury. However, if you were paid some benefits, but then the insurer stopped paying, you have two years from the date of the last compensation payment to file the Application for Adjustment of Claim.

Third Party Claim

If you are an Amazon Flex driver who was injured in a vehicle accident caused by another, you may be able to sue the other driver for damages. Under these circumstances, you will generally need to establish the other driver’s negligence by showing: (1) the other driver owed you a duty to use reasonable care, (2) the other driver breached the duty to use reasonable care, (3) causation, and (4) damages.

Retain a Workers’ Compensation Attorney in Chicago

Sometimes legitimate workers’ compensation claims are unfairly denied. If you’re worried about your initial claim as an injured Amazon Flex driver in Chicago, you can discuss your situation with the seasoned workers’ compensation lawyers of Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca. We can represent injured workers in Rockford, Quincy, Aurora, and Champaign, and throughout Cook, Kane, Adams, Sangamon, and Winnebago Counties. Contact us at 312-724-5846, or through our online form.