FedEx Drivers With Back Injuries
Chicago Lawyers to Represent FedEx Drivers With Back Injuries
FedEx trucks come in four types: vans, trailers, truck tractors, and straight trucks, with a lion’s share being straight trucks. These trucks carry general freight and letters all across the interstate highway system. FedEx drivers are at risk of back injuries because of the long hours they spend operating large, heavy vehicles that vibrate. If you are a FedEx driver who suffered back injuries on the job, you should give the seasoned Chicago workers’ compensation lawyers of Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca to understand their rights. We have more than sixty years of experience fighting for the full and fair compensation of injured workers.
What Are Common Back Injuries FedEx Drivers Experience?
FedEx drivers may experience many different kinds of back injuries including strain, disc herniation or bulging, sprains, strains, and fractured vertebra. The most common back injuries are strains and sprains of the back, but when you’re a FedEx driver who is involved in a truck accident, the injuries may be far more serious. Significant or catastrophic injuries may necessitate a long recovery period, as well as expensive medical procedures, such as surgery. FedEx workers also suffer back injuries from lifting. Around 1/3 of workplace back injuries could be prevented by training workers in how to lift. However, even when a worker is appropriately trained, he or she may lift a particularly heavy load and strain his or her back.
Back injuries can make it difficult to drive or lift, both crucial tasks for FedEx drivers. With strain, you may experience a popping sound at the time you’re injured, and you may find it difficult to bend or walk and suffer pain that increases with particular movements. Often these injuries are easily treated and waiting and seeing whether it will heal can actually result in further injuries. If you were injured on the job, it is crucial to see a doctor right away and let them know it was the result of a work accident.
You should written notice of your back injuries to your supervisor or manager. You don’t want them to claim they didn’t know or use delayed notice as a reason not to pay your claim. You should also call our attorneys to make sure you receive the full range of benefits to which you’re entitled. Even though more than 1 million people suffer back injuries every year, and they can be debilitating, employers and insurers may deny valid claims or only pay a portion of the benefits owed.
Why Did I Receive a Denial?
You may receive a partial or complete workers’ compensation denial for your back injuries if you fail to give timely notice, if you have a preexisting condition, if FedEx’s insurer does not believe your injury is work-related, or if FedEx believes that your injury is not as serious as your treating physician says it is. You should not assume a denial is valid. It is important to seek legal advice.
What Benefits Can I Get For Back Injuries?
FedEx workers who sustain back injuries on the job can obtain:
- medical benefits,
- temporary total disability benefits,
- temporary partial disability benefits,
- permanent total disability benefits,
- permanent partial disability benefits,
- vocational rehabilitation benefits.
Attorneys to File a Third Party Lawsuit
Sometimes back injuries are the result of a FedEx truck accident. When a truck accident was the fault of another, you may be able to recover workers’ compensation benefits and also obtain damages from the at-fault driver in a third party lawsuit. Our Chicago lawyers need to show negligence in most cases, which means we would need to show it is more likely than not: (1) you were owed a duty of reasonable care, (2) departure from that duty, (3) causation, and (4) actual damages.
Retain a Seasoned Chicago Attorney
If you are a FedEx driver who suffered a back injury on the job, you should talk about a workers’ compensation claim and other legal remedies with our firm’s experienced lawyers. We represent FedEx workers in Quincy, Aurora, Chicago, Rockford, and Champaign as well as Kane, Winnebago, Cook, Sangamon and Adams Counties. Call us at 312-724-5846 or complete our online form.