What Should I Do If I Have Been Injured While operating a company vehicle in California?
If you were injured while operating a company vehicle in California, contact our experienced personal injury law firm right away. Car accidents can take place at any given moment and can cause severe physical and financial damages. Here are two scenarios for those who have been involved in an accident while operating a company vehicle.
If you were responsible for the accident
Although you might have been at fault for the crash, you could still suffer severe injuries that could require emergency room treatment, hospital admission or even surgery and rehabilitation. You could be out of work for months. Imagine what the consequences would be for you and your family. As long as you weren’t on some frolic or a detour that wasn’t work connected, you should be covered under the California Workers’ Compensation Code.
If you’re that seriously hurt, you’ll want to retain a personal injury attorney who is knowledgeable and experienced in workers compensation law to represent you right away. Otherwise, you’re just not going to get the benefits you deserve. The job of the adjuster assigned to your case is to save the insurer money on claims by paying as little as possible. That’s what they’ll do. We know how to get you the highest amount of benefits possible.
If another driver was responsible for the accident
Even if the accident wasn’t your fault, you could still receive workers’ compensation benefits while proceeding against the person who caused the accident in a civil lawsuit for damages. This is called a “third party case.” It’s almost always the preferred course of action because, in a civil court of law, you’re permitted to seek other damages that the Workers’ Compensation Code doesn’t permit.
A settlement or award in a civil lawsuit can be significantly higher than that of a workers’ compensation settlement or award. Nobody is allowed two recoveries off of the same case, so the workers’ compensation insurer might have to be reimbursed, but there are ways of compromising the amount they claim.
Workers’ compensation law is complicated. Pursuing a civil injury case along with the workers’ compensation claim adds to the complexity. Our dedicated Orange County injury law firm offers a free legal consultation and case evaluation on any motor vehicle crash.