Heavy Equipment & Truck Drivers
According to the Trucking Association of New York, the trucking industry in the state of New York provides more than 275,000 jobs – or 1 out of 27 in the state! With so many truckers on the road, there are bound to be some driver injuries and fatalities. But, while such statistics can seem dry at a distance, trucking accidents become much more emotionally charged when you are the one driving the truck. When you are the one sustaining the injuries – and possibly losing your livelihood – it can leave you questioning your future and wondering how you are going to pay your bills.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics found recently that the transportation industry was one of the most dangerous industries to work in, resulting in a significant number of fatalities every year. As a truck driver, you are probably not that surprised by such information. You know how many ways there are to get hurt while trucking.
Some of the accidents truck drivers are involved in include:
While traffic accidents are the most obvious types of accidents that can hurt a truck driver, there are others related to the job as well, such as:
The high risk of a fatal accident for transportation professionals like truck drivers is disturbing, but there are plenty of other types of injuries that truck drivers can sustain as well. Some of these include:
The spine is a fragile thing, and it is possible to sustain an injury to the neck and/or back in a variety of ways. Truck drivers may get whiplash from being involved in a traffic accident, hurt their back slipping and falling, or slowly develop severe back pain due to sitting for long periods on the job.
Many truck drivers develop repetitive motion injuries because they have to perform the same motions over and over. These injuries can include carpal tunnel, tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow, and more.
Truckers not only have to drive trucks for hours on end, they often have to lift, push and pull heavy loads as well – which can easily lead to severe muscle strains and other soft tissue damage.
Whether it comes from a trucking accident with another vehicle, a slip, and fall, or another type of accident, when a trucker hits their head on a hard surface, they can easily sustain a brain injury.
If you have sustained any of the above injuries while trucking, or any other type of serious injury, your first step should be to call Terry Katz truck accident injury lawyers. Our team has helped numerous truck drivers to make sure they got fair treatment and the compensation they deserved for their injuries – either through a personal injury case, a workers’ compensation case, or a combination of the two.
In an ideal world, when you got hurt while performing your job duties as a trucker, you could file a workers’ comp claim and the benefits you needed to take care of yourself and your family. But the reality is often much different. Employers and their insurers can make it difficult or impossible to get the benefits you deserve. They could deny your claim completely or they could only give you the bare minimum of benefits so that you don’t have enough to get by on. Either way, you deserve more.
It is also important to understand that workers’ compensation claims can often lead to other types of legal claims – like employment law violations or a third-party claim, where you can hold a third-party (like an independent contractor) responsible and file a personal injury claim. These types of claims can wind up paying out much more than your workers’ comp claim will pay.
The best way to get your workers’ compensation benefits after a work injury is to hire an experienced truck accident attorney to help you file your claim. That way, your attorney can make sure the claim is perfect so that it is more difficult to deny. And, by bringing in your own attorney, you have someone that can tell you if there are other potential claims you could file, like a third-party claim or an employment law violation claim.
The Terry Katz truck accident injury law firm knows New York workers’ compensation law and we know exactly how to help you file your workers’ compensation claim after your work injury. We can also spot other claims a mile away, and we will definitely let you know if you have other legal options following your accident. You can call us and we will file your claim for you, and do whatever else we need to do to stand up for your rights.
Calling our law office is easy – we offer a toll-free number, 888-488-7459, and a free consultation, so you can talk with an experienced truck accident injury lawyer at no charge to you. All you have to do is pick up the phone, tell us about your work-related injuries, and we will take care of the rest.
Please contact us now at Terry Katz & Associates, P.C., and talk to a workers’ compensation attorney. We are ready and waiting to answer your questions and make sure you are treated right.
