Initial Claims for Injured Uber Drivers

Chicago Lawyers Helping Rideshare Workers

Uber drivers are at risk of both repetitive stress injuries and acute injuries from accidents. Various parts of the body, including the back and shoulders, are taxed when you drive for long periods. If you’re unable to work due to an injury you sustained while transporting passengers for work, you may feel unable to do anything about the medical bills and disability. You may have signed an agreement with Uber that specifies you are an independent contractor rather than an employee, and therefore believe you are not entitled to benefits. However, Uber may be wrong about your classification. The experienced Chicago workers’ compensation attorneys of nap_names id=”FIRM-NAME-1″] can help file initial claims for injured Uber drivers.

Initial Claims for Injured Uber Drivers

Worker classification doesn’t hinge on what a company wants to call its worker. Rather, in Illinois, courts follow the ABC test. This test assumes you’re an employee unless Uber can show: (1) the driving you do is outside its normal business, (2) Uber doesn’t direct your driving, and (3) you’re involved in a distinct business, occupation, profession, trade, or occupation. It may be difficult for Uber to satisfy this test in most cases. If it can’t satisfy the test, you may be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. If you are concerned whether workers’ compensation benefits will be available for your work-related injury, speak to an experienced lawyer regarding your situation.

Notice of Injury

You should provide written notice of your work-related injuries to Uber. The law doesn’t require your notice to be in writing, but when you provide it in writing, you prevent Uber from claiming that it was unaware of your work-related injuries. Notice needs to be given within 45 days. Your claim can be denied as untimely if you wait beyond that period. Ideally, you give notice soon after sustaining the injury. If you don’t provide notice immediately, an insurer may disbelieve that your injury is work-related and deny the claim.

Once it receives your notice, Uber has thirty days to file an accident report with the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. It’s also supposed to let its insurer know to process your workers’ compensation claim. The insurer will investigate. The investigation may involve looking at your records, tests, and the treatment you’re receiving. It will also look at evidence related to an accident. It needs to let you know whether the claim will be paid. Uber may deny that you are an employee entitled to workers’ compensation benefits for different reasons. For example, it may dispute your claim on the grounds that your injury isn’t work-related. Your claim could also be denied if you don’t give timely notice.

Application for Adjustment of Claim

You can file an Application for Adjustment of Claim with the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, even if you’re receiving benefits. Filing the Application can speed up resolution of any later denials or stop in payments. An Application for Adjustment of Claim should be filed no later than three years from the injury date. Sometimes insurers begin paying claims, but stop before paying you all the benefits you’re owed. In that case, you have two years to file the Application from the date of the last payment. The Application allows you to ask for a hearing before an arbitrator if there’s a dispute.

Third-Party Lawsuit

If you sustained your injuries in a car accident, you may be entitled to file your workers’ compensation claim and also bring a third-party lawsuit for compensatory damages. While workers’ compensation claims don’t require you to establish fault, the third-party lawsuit will require you to establish another party’s liability. In most cases, this requires you to prove negligence. You’ll need to show: (1) the other party owed you a duty of care, (2) breach of the duty of care, (3) causation, and (4) damages. Damages should include the full scope of your losses. Assuming the other party is found to be at fault, Uber and its insurer are entitled to recover expenses related to your workers’ compensation claim.

Consult a Seasoned Chicago Attorney

Talk to the seasoned workers’ compensation lawyers of nap_names id=”FIRM-NAME-1″] before filing initial claims for injured Uber drivers. We represent Uber drivers in Chicago, Champaign, Aurora, Rockford, Quincy, along with Kane, Winnebago, Cook, Adams, and Sangamon Counties. Contact us at 312-724-5846 or complete our online form.