Most people understand that the trucking industry can be incredibly difficult to work in. The men and women who put in hours each week transporting goods and performing services throughout this state and country should not have to worry about whether they will receive compensation if they are injured at work. At the Law Offices of Kropach & Kropach, our Encino trucking accident attorneys are ready to get to work on your case today. Let us help secure the compensation you are entitled to after a trucking work injury.
Truckers have incredibly difficult jobs, and the injuries they sustain can affect them their entire lives. From injuries that happen due to repetitive stress to traumatic injuries caused by accidents, truckers sustain a range of injuries. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the most common injuries truck drivers sustain include the following:
These injuries occur in a variety of ways. OSHA says that the most common events or exposures leading to injury include:
Truckers deserve to have safe workplaces, and this includes safe vehicles. It is up to trucking companies to ensure each vehicle is properly inspected and maintained at all times. This will help prevent vehicle accidents that can lead to serious truck driver injuries.
If a truck driver sustained an injury in an accident that was caused by another driver’s careless or negligent actions, they could be entitled to compensation beyond the coverage that workers compensation provides.
While the majority of a trucker’s time is spent in their vehicle, they can also sustain injuries in other ways. It is important that loading docks are safe and that the people who work around truckers follow safety protocols. In many cases, truck drivers are injured due to the careless or negligent actions of a third party and not due to the negligence of their own employer. On any given day, a truck driver usually interacts with several different companies that may not have the same high level of safety protocols in place.
It is very wise to seek representation from an Encino lawyer who has experience handling trucking accident cases like yours when filing a claim for workers’ compensation benefits. The following are critical ways in which we can assist you:
California law requires that virtually all employers purchase workers’ compensation insurance. If you have been injured in a work-related accident as a trucker in Encino or the surrounding areas, it is almost certain that you are eligible to recover workers’ compensation benefits.
However, the amount of compensation you settle for can end up being less than the amount you genuinely deserve if you attempt to handle your claim without hiring a lawyer.
This is because insurance companies are businesses. When you file a claim to recover workers’ compensation benefits, the insurance company will not be motivated to pay you fairly. Their goal will be to minimize their financial losses.
In some instances, insurers will deny claims outright by arguing that a victim was injured in an accident that wasn’t truly work-related. Luckily, it can be difficult for an insurer to use this justification to deny a trucking accident claim, as an accident that occurs while you are operating a commercial truck or loading/unloading it is almost sure to be an accident that happens while you’re on the clock.
That doesn’t mean an insurance company will offer a fair settlement when you represent yourself. Even if an insurer cannot deny your claim, they will still probably attempt to convince you to settle for an unreasonably low offer.
You don’t have to settle for less than you deserve. Our Encino trucking accident attorneys will calculate how much compensation might represent a fair settlement offer based on the severity of your injuries and losses. If an insurance company’s first offers are too low, we will negotiate aggressively for a more appropriate payout.
Again, if the amount of money you receive from a workers’ compensation settlement is not enough to fully compensate you for all your relevant losses, you might be able to seek additional compensation by filing a claim against a negligent third party who caused your accident.
Determining who that third party is will require conducting a thorough investigation.
You may not have the resources or training necessary to conduct such an investigation yourself. You don’t have to. The team at our Encino trucking accident and workers’ compensation law firm will conduct the investigation, gathering evidence that shows your accident occurred because someone else was careless.
The vast majority of medical professionals tend to agree that injured patients recover more quickly and easily when they get as much rest as possible after being harmed in accidents. This highlights yet another reason it is wise to hire an Encino trucking accident attorney when filing a claim (or when your claim has already been denied): prioritizing your health.
Don’t burden yourself with the various tasks that pursuing compensation can involve. Instead, focus on your recovery while we focus on helping you receive proper compensation for your losses.
If you or somebody you care about has been injured at work in a trucking accident, you should be entitled to compensation. However, if your employer or insurer has denied or delayed your claim, let the Law Offices of Kropach & Kropach get to work on your case today. We will investigate what happened in order to secure the following:
When you need an Encino trucking accident attorney after a workplace injury, you can contact us for a free consultation by clicking here or calling us at 818-609-7005.
