Truck Drivers With Temporary and Total Disabilities

Chicago Lawyers for Truck Drivers Who Are Temporarily and Totally Disabled

Trucks face numerous dangers on the road. They travel billions of miles a year and operating a big rig or other commercial truck requires significant muscle power and concentration. The job can be fatiguing. It may involve repetitive motion. And it may come with risks of significant collisions, both with other vehicles and fixed objects. As a result, work-related injuries are common in the trucking industry. At Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca, our Chicago workers’ compensation lawyers have more than 60 years of experience evaluating clients’ cases from every angle to make sure they obtain the greatest amount of compensation available to them. We look at whether relief is available through the workers’ compensation system, civil litigation, or the SSDI claims process.

Truck Drivers Who Need Temporary Total Disability Benefits

Like workers in other industries, truck drivers must perform repetitive motions; over time a repetitive stress injury may result. They also face dangers on the road, including the risk of accidents. A truck driver who is injured in a work-related accident may suffer broken bones, head and brain injuries, lacerations, burns, internal organ damage, seat belt injuries, spinal cord damage, paralysis, or some combination of these. A trucker may be left unable to earn a living while also dealing with medical bills incurred because of work performed for an employer.

As a trucker, you should let your employer know right away if you suffer repetitive stress injury or acute injuries that are work-related. Some truckers assume that they haven’t really been hurt in an accident only to find they’re seriously injured a few days or weeks later. You should seek medical attention right away and provide notice to your employer, so that it’s less likely your employer’s insurer contests whether you’re entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. You have 45 days to notify your employer for workers’ compensation purposes. When you see a doctor, you should let him or her know that the illness may be work-related.

As a truck driver who is injured on the job, you may not be able to work for some period of time while you rest and recover. Under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act, most employers in the state are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance to cover their employers for work-related injuries. Among the benefits available to you may be temporary total disability benefits. These are intended to replace 2/3 of your average weekly wage. However, the calculation of your average weekly wage can have an impact on the amount you receive. Sometimes insurers use a lower average weekly wage than they should so that they don’t have to pay as much in disability benefits.

You are entitled to receive temporary total disability benefit safter you have been unable to work for at least three days. If you are unable to work for 14 or more days, you can receive benefits for the first three days retroactively.

Third Party Lawsuits

In general, workers’ compensation benefits do not fully make up for a truck driver’s losses after an accident. They cover a portion of wage loss and medical care. They don’t cover noneconomic losses or the entirety of a trucker’s lost pay. If you are a truck driver who was injured in an accident caused by someone other than your employer you may be able to pursue damages in a third party lawsuit. While workers’ compensation benefits are no-fault benefits you can obtain even if you were partially to blame for the accident that resulted in your injuries, our lawyers would need to establish a defendant’s fault in order to secure damages in a personal injury lawsuit. Often this requires us to show: (1) you were owed a duty of care, (2) breach of the duty of care, (3) causation, and (4) damages.

Retain an Experienced Chicago Workers’ Compensation Lawyer

If you are a truck driver with temporary and total disabilities, you should give our seasoned Chicago workers’ compensation lawyers a call. With more than 60 years of experience, we can explore your case from every angle to achieve the best outcome. We represent clients in personal injury lawsuits, workers’ compensation claims, and SSDI claims in Quincy, Rockford, Champaign, and Aurora, as well as Kane, Sangamon, Winnebago, Cook, and Adams Counties. Call us at 312-724-5846 or complete our online form.