Charlotte Company Car Work Injury Lawyer

Charlotte Company Car Work Injury Attorney

Thousands of people working in the Charlotte area and throughout North Carolina must use company cars for work, and driving for work qualifies as completing one’s job responsibilities. Wrecks can happen to any driver, and if you are hurt while driving a company vehicle, it is important to understand how workers’ compensation insurance can help and the value of having a company car work injury lawyer in Charlotte, North Carolina on your side.

Representing Injured Victims of Company Car Wrecks in Charlotte & Throughout North Carolina

The Sumwalt Group Workers’ Compensation and Trial Lawyers have many years of experience helping injured workers throughout North Carolina from its centrally located office in Charlotte, NC, with workers’ compensation claims, including those arising from company car accidents. If you were driving any vehicle for your job and suffered injuries in a wreck, you are likely eligible to file a claim for workers’ compensation benefits. Having the right attorney on your side will make the claim filing process easier.

We can give you the information you need to understand the workers’ compensation claim system, your employer’s obligations, and whether you have alternative avenues of recovery available to you after your wreck. We have helped many past clients in every industry pursue compensation for the damages they have suffered from work-related wrecks, and we are ready to put this experience to work for your case.

Vernon Sumwalt

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Potential Injuries from Company Car Wrecks

Any company car wreck has the potential to result in injuries, just like any other vehicle wreck. It is possible for the victim of a company car wreck to suffer traumatic head injuries, broken bones, burns, and other injuries that might require surgery. They may also sustain internal organ injuries, deep lacerations, and many cuts, scrapes, and bruises. These injuries may not only require immediate emergency care but also ongoing rehabilitative treatments and procedures.

It is important to document as much as possible from the wreck scene if you are able to do so safely. Try to take photos of the scene of the crash, your injuries, the damage to the company vehicle, and the positions of the vehicles on the road. While fault does not typically factor into most workers’ compensation cases, it is a major factor in a North Carolina car wreck case and may impact your recovery in multiple ways.

If you were not responsible for the wreck, your employer will likely handle the auto insurance claim filing process for the company vehicle. A workers’ compensation claim will then be necessary for you to recover benefits like medical expense coverage and disability benefits if you are unable to work for an extended time due to your injuries. Fault for the wreck may arise as an issue later if you decide to pursue additional legal recourse against the at-fault driver.

Eligibility for Workers’ Compensation using a Lawyer in Charlotte, NC

In North Carolina, almost all employers are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance, which applies to most regular workers. Some domestic care workers and other specific types of employees are exempt, and employers are not required to cover independent contractors and federal employees are compensated under an entirely different system. Confirm your employment status with your employer to ensure you are eligible to file a workers’ compensation claim if you are hurt while working.

The other component of eligibility for workers’ compensation benefits in North Carolina is the circumstances of the injury. To qualify for benefits, the injury or illness must have been acquired within the scope of the victim’s employment, meaning they were injured or became ill while working or as a direct result of their job duties. When it comes to company car wrecks, victims are eligible for benefits when the wrecks occur on the job while doing business for their employer without any personal deviations.

It is important to note that workers’ compensation insurance generally does not apply to injuries suffered in vehicle wrecks that occur during a commute to or from work. If you are hurt in a car wreck while driving to work or while driving home from work, these incidents would not qualify as work-related unless one of the many exceptions to this general rule happen. Checking with a qualified workers’ compensation lawyer in Charlotte, North Carolina, can help you determine if your injury anywhere in North Carolina might qualify under one of these exceptions.

Filing Your Claim for Workers’ Compensation Benefits

In order to file your claim for workers’ compensation benefits, you must report your injury to your employer no later than 30 days after it occurred unless your employer has actual knowledge of it. If you are injured while driving a company vehicle for work, your employer will likely find out about the incident right away. You must report the wreck and your desire to file a claim within the 30-day time limit; otherwise, your employer may attempt to deny coverage.

In addition to meeting this reporting requirement, you will need to submit the claim to the employer’s insurance carrier no later than two years after the date the accident happened. This may seem like plenty of time, but the reality is that it may take much longer than you expect to compile your case. It is imperative to consult a company car work injury lawyer in Charlotte, North Carolina, as quickly as possible so they can start building your case.

Functional Capacity Evaluation for Workers’ Compensation Benefits

Most insurance carriers in North Carolina will require injured workers seeking workers’ compensation benefits to undergo medical evaluations from approved physicians in order to assess the severity of their injuries. These functional capacity evaluations are meant to assess the overall impact of the injury on the victim’s ability to work. The doctor who evaluates you will assign a disability rating based on their findings.

Your company car work injury lawyer in Charlotte, North Carolina, can help resolve any issues you encounter when it comes to receiving a fair determination of workers’ compensation benefits based on the rating and other chances for compensation you have under our North Carolina workers’ compensation system.

Recovering Benefits Through Workers’ Compensation Insurance

You should file your claim as quickly as possible. Your employer’s insurance carrier will review the details of your claim and may contact you and your employer for more information. Once they complete the review, they will issue a determination of benefits, explaining the compensation you are eligible to receive.

Most injured workers will qualify for two types of benefits. First, the insurance company provides medical expense coverage to pay for all of the medical treatment they require to recover as much as possible from their work-related injuries. This coverage extends to both immediate and future medical treatment costs resulting from the incident. If there are any issues concerning billing for the care you need, your attorney can help.

Second, the injured worker can receive disability benefits that compensate them during the time they are unable to work because of their injury, or during the time their earning power is diminished due to their injury and while on medical restrictions. Partial benefits can be awarded when a claimant can still work but cannot earn their usual level of income due to their injury. They must report their earnings to the insurance carrier each week in order to calculate any benefits owed, which is something our law firm in Charlotte, North Carolina, can help you with.

When the victim is completely unable to work because of their injury, they can receive total disability benefits. These are paid each week until they are able to return to work, and each payment will amount to about two-thirds of their average weekly pay based on their prior year of work for their employer (or shorter period if you worked less than a year before the injury). Your company car work injury lawyer is your most important asset for ensuring a fair determination of benefits under our North Carolina workers’ compensation system.

Filing a Third Party Personal Injury Suit for a Company Car Wreck

While workers’ compensation insurance exists to provide a financial support structure for injured workers, it also provides protection from civil liability to covered employers. This means that you cannot sue your employer in response to a work injury unless they do not have insurance or they directly and intentionally caused your injury somehow. However, you may have grounds to file a third-party personal injury suit under certain conditions.

If anyone outside of your work caused your injury, you would have the right to file a third-party personal injury claim. If you were driving a company car as part of your job duties, for example, then you may have been hit by a driver who is not employed at your workplace. In this situation, you not only have the right to file a workers’ compensation claim since the wreck was work-related, but you could also pursue additional compensation from the at-fault driver.

This third-party personal injury suit can cover the damages that workers’ compensation insurance will not cover. For example, you may qualify for disability benefits through the workers’ compensation claim, but this will only cover a portion of your lost income. You could seek repayment of the remainder through your third-party personal injury suit, and you would also have grounds to seek compensation for non-economic damages like “pain and suffering,” which are otherwise not recoverable under the North Carolina workers’ compensation system. Pursuing both claims could enhance your recovery by a substantial margin.

One important factor to remember when it comes to third-party claims for work injuries is fault. While workers’ compensation insurance functions on a no-fault basis, and it is possible to qualify for benefits even if you partially caused your own injury, this is not the case for personal injury claims. North Carolina enforces a contributory negligence statute, meaning you cannot be liable for your injury; otherwise, you lose the right to seek compensation for your damages.

Success with any personal injury suit in North Carolina requires accurate identification of the defendant who caused the injury, proof of how they caused the wreck, and proof of the full extent of the damages the plaintiff suffered because of their actions. Your company car wreck may have been the result of distracted or intoxicated driving, speeding, or a moving violation. No matter how it happened, your attorney can help establish liability from our centrally located offices in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Under North Carolina’s fault rule for vehicle wrecks, the at-fault driver’s auto insurance policy may cover some of the damages that you cannot recover through your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance policy. Since your employer owned the company vehicle, the at-fault driver’s policy will likely use their property damage liability coverage to compensate for the repair or replacement costs of the company vehicle.

One of the advantages to filing a third-party personal injury suit is recovering compensation for non-economic damages like “pain and suffering,” which as mentioned earlier, are limited in North Carolina. Workers’ compensation insurance will not cover this, so if you have the opportunity to file a third-party claim, you could potentially expand your recovery. Your attorney can help determine a fair amount of pain and suffering compensation to seek with your claim.

Benefits of Working With a Company Car Work Injury Lawyer in Charlotte, North Carolina

Even if you believe that the fault for your company car accident is clear, navigating the workers’ compensation claim filing process and building a cohesive third-party personal injury suit will likely be more challenging than you initially expected. You will need legal counsel you trust on your side in order to have the greatest chances of success with the recovery efforts you attempt. The team at The Sumwalt Group Workers’ Compensation and Trial Lawyers is ready to assist you.

During your initial consultation with our team, we can take time to learn as much as possible about your situation and the effects of your company car wreck. We’ll help you determine fault, and we can review any concerns you may have about bearing partial liability for the wreck. We can then assist you in ensuring that your employer and their insurance carrier handle your claim in good faith.

When it comes to securing workers’ compensation benefits, we can resolve any disputes over your benefits, and if you have grounds to file a third-party personal injury suit, you can count on our team for assistance with this as well. Our goal for every work injury case we accept is to help our client maximize their recovery as efficiently as possible, and we are confident we have the skills and resources to meet the challenges of your company’s car wreck case.

A company car wreck has the potential to result in life-changing injuries, leading to expensive medical bills and diminished earning capacity. You have a limited time to build and file your workers’ compensation claim and to look into the associated third-party negligence claim against the at-fault driver. Contact The Sumwalt Group Workers’ Compensation and Trial Lawyers today to schedule a free initial consultation with a company car work injury lawyer with centrally located offices in Charlotte, North Carolina.