Lost Wages for Injured Lyft Drivers

Workers’ Compensation Lawyers for Rideshare Drivers in Chicago

Many people believe that there are advantages to the gig economy. Among these advantages is that workers have greater flexibility. However, a major disadvantage is that employers can sidestep all the laws that have been put in place to protect employees by misclassifying their workers as independent contractors. Lyft may misclassify you in order to avoid paying workers’ compensation benefits to which you are entitled. If you are concerned about lost wages as an injured Lyft driver, you may be able to obtain benefits in spite of a misclassification. However, it can be an uphill battle to obtain these benefits. The experienced Chicago workers’ compensation attorneys of Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca can potentially provide legal representation in your claim for benefits after an injury.

Worker Misclassification

Often rideshare drivers are at great risk of being injured due to a car accident, repetitive injury, or other incident. You should not assume that Lyft’s classification of you as an independent contractor is accurate, even if you signed a contract to that effect. In Illinois, the ABC test is used to determine whether a worker should be classified as an employee rather than an independent contractor. Factors to be considered under this test include how much control Lyft exercises over you, whether your work is part of Lyft’s core business, and whether you’re involved in another independently established driving occupation or trade. If Lyft tells you how to do your job, not just what job to do, there may be a strong argument that you are an employee of Lyft. A dedicated workers’ compensation lawyer can assess your work situation to determine whether you may be able to claim an employment relationship.

Lost Wages for Injured Lyft Drivers

As an injured Lyft driver, you may be concerned about wages lost because of your inability to drive. If you are deemed to be an employee of Lyft, you can obtain workers’ compensation benefits following a work injury, including wage replacement in the form of partial or total disability benefits.

Those that are temporarily but totally disabled by a work injury are entitled to temporary total disability benefits. These benefits are 2/3 of your average weekly wage. The average weekly wage is your gross pay in the 52 weeks before you were injured, divided by 52. You won’t be paid the temporary total disability benefit until you miss three days of work because of the injury. So, for example, if your herniated disc is aggravated by your job and you need three days off to rest your spine but after that you go back to work, you would not get disability pay for those days. However, if you can’t work for 14 days due to the herniated disc that was aggravated by your job, you can retroactively receive the benefit for the first three missed days.

If you’re not able to go back to your job driving because you’ve reached maximum medical improvement and you have permanent medical restrictions, you may need to find a different job. The new job may pay less than your old job. Or you may not be able to work at all. If you need to take a lower paying job due to permanent restrictions, you may be able to obtain wage differential benefits. This is 2/3 of the difference between what you would be making in your prior job compared to what you can make in a new job. You can receive the wage differential benefit for five years or until you are 67-years-old, whichever represents a longer period.

If you are a Lyft driver who is permanently and totally disabled because you’ve lost use of both your feet, both your hands, both your eyes, or two other body parts, you can get a weekly benefit of 2/3 of your average weekly wage. You will also be entitled to cost of living adjustments.

Skilled Workers’ Compensation Attorneys Serving Chicago

If you’re concerned about lost wages as an injured Lyft driver in Chicago, you can call us. The seasoned lawyers of Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca represent disabled people in Rockford, Champaign, Aurora and Quincy, as well as Sangamon, Winnebago, Cook, Adams, and Kane Counties. Sometimes it is appropriate to pursue a third party claim or other relief in addition to a workers’ compensation claim; we are also experienced personal injury and SSDI attorneys. Contact us at 312-724-5846 or via our online form.