Lawyer
For Injured
Workers

Lawyer For Injured Workers

Does Workers’ Compensation Cover Truck Drivers?

On Behalf of | Oct 11, 2022 | Motor Vehicle Accidents

If you spend your days behind the wheel of a truck, you probably see a lot of crashes. As someone who drives more than most, there is a fair chance that one of them might involve you one day.

If so, you may face considerable medical expenses or, at the very least, need a few days off to recover. Will you be able to claim workers’ compensation benefits to cover those things?

North Carolina law sets out  several factors to look at when determining whether you are covered or not:

Are you an employee or an independent contractor?

Employees are generally covered by their employer’s workers’ compensation policy. Yet a company might claim you are an independent contractor rather than an employee of theirs.

If there is doubt over this, a court will look at things such as how much autonomy you have compared to how much the company dictates your working week.

Some companies agree to cover independent contractors when hiring them

They might state in the contract that you must pay them for the coverage. Or they could just account for it when setting the rate of pay.

Do you have a license from the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT)?

If you hold your own USDOT operator’s license and are driving your own truck, then you probably need to claim against your own insurance. If you do not have any, you may be legible to claim against that of the motor carrier you were contracting for when the crash occurred.

Claiming workers’ compensation is rarely straightforward. If you are injured while driving a truck, seek legal help to examine your situation.

FindLaw Netowrk