Knee Injuries for Uber Drivers

Chicago Lawyers Representing Gig Workers

Your knee is complex. It’s made up of bones, cartilage, ligaments, and tendons. If you’re a rideshare driver, even a small injury to any of these parts of the knee can leave you unable to work. Knee injuries for Uber drivers can present a difficult challenge when drivers do not have sufficient savings to cover all the medical expenses needed to treat this serious injury or to take the time off from work for recovery and rehabilitation. While the Illinois workers’ compensation system was set up to streamline the payment of claims to workers after a work-related injury, it’s still fairly complicated to obtain benefits in many circumstances, especially as a rideshare driver. If you’re an Uber driver in Chicago who sustained knee injuries on the job, you should discuss filing an initial claim with the seasoned Chicago workers’ compensation attorneys of Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca.

Knee Injuries for Uber Drivers

As a rideshare driver for Uber, you may experience difficulty driving after sustaining a knee injury on the job. During a car accident, the knee may get crushed, bent, or twisted, resulting acute knee injuries such as dislocation, ligament tears, sprains, strains, or broken kneecaps.

Uber may have told you that drivers are not entitled to workers’ compensation benefits because they are independent contractors. You may have signed an agreement to this effect. However, there is a legal presumption that injured Uber drivers are employees of Uber and not independent contractors.

In order to avoid paying workers’ compensation benefits, Uber needs to establish that you are not an employee under the ABC test by demonstrating at a relevant workers’ compensation proceeding: (1) it isn’t in control of how you work, (2) you’re also engaged in another occupation independent of driving for Uber, and (3) Uber’s ordinary business isn’t driving. If Uber cannot establish these elements at a workers’ compensation hearing, you should be able to recover workers’ compensation benefits. Uber has significantly more resources than its drivers do; accordingly, it is very important to retain a lawyer to present your case.

Benefits for Knee Injuries for Uber Drivers

Workers’ compensation benefits provide partial coverage of an injured workers’ losses. These benefits can include temporary and permanent disability benefits, reasonably necessary medical care, vocational rehabilitation and medical mileage.

Uber’s insurer may start out by paying workers’ compensation benefits for your knee injury while it continues to investigate the claim. Investigations may include physical or social media surveillance. There may be a sudden cessation of benefits or Uber’s insurer may refuse to pay the full amount of benefits you are owed. Uber’s insurer may choose an inappropriate method of determining your average weekly wage, which leads to a miscalculation and an inappropriate payment of temporary total disability benefits. You may find that Uber’s insurer asks you to undergo an independent medical exam because it is skeptical about the severity of your knee injury and the medical treatment that your treating physician prescribed for you.

Third-Party Lawsuit

If your knee injury was sustained in a car accident caused by someone else, you may be able to bring a third-party lawsuit for damages. In a third-party lawsuit against another driver, you’ll likely need to prove negligence. That is, you’ll need to show: (1) the other driver owed you a duty to use reasonable care, (2) the other driver’s breach of the duty to use reasonable care, (3) causation, and (4) actual damages. Evidence that the other driver breached the duty to use reasonable care can include speeding, weaving, drunk driving, and texting while driving.

In contrast to litigation in court, workers’ compensation is a no-fault system. You won’t need to establish your employer’s fault for your knee injury to obtain benefits. Your employer, likewise, can’t get your benefits reduced by showing your negligence caused your own injuries. You will, however, need to establish that your knee injury is related to your work for Uber.

Retain a Seasoned Chicago Attorney

If you’re an Uber driver with a knee injury, you should talk to the experienced Chicago lawyers of Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca. We also represent injured Uber drivers in Quincy, Aurora, Champaign, and Rockford, as well as Kane, Cook, Winnebago, Adams, and Sangamon Counties. Call us at 312-724-5846 or complete our online form.