What Happens If I’m In An Accident While Driving a Personal Vehicle for Work?
There are various reasons why individuals would drive their personal vehicles while carrying out job-related duties. Sometimes, this is at the direction of an employer, but there are times when individuals may need to occasionally use their personal vehicles for work activities.
This can become complicated if a person gets into an accident and they are technically on duty with their job. Here, we want to discuss the possibilities of compensation, including insurance payments as well as workers’ compensation.
Determining Fault is Crucial
If you have been involved in an accident and your personal vehicle well carrying out work-related duties, you need to proceed forward just like any other type of vehicle accident. In Illinois, this typically means reporting the incident to law enforcement officials and letting them conduct an investigation. You will need a police report to move forward with your insurance claim or a personal injury lawsuit (if a lawsuit becomes necessary). Consulting with an accident lawyer in Chicago can provide additional guidance and support throughout this process.
It is also critically important for individuals to seek medical care after an accident occurs. Do not worry about your job or your vehicle. Your priority is your health. Not only does this help ensure that any unseen injuries get evaluated quickly, but it also helps establish a link between the incident and any injuries that do arise. This will be important for the insurance carriers to see.
Vehicle Insurance
Recovering compensation after a vehicle accident if you were carrying out job-related duties may be challenging. If another driver was at fault for the incident, you will likely report the incident to your insurance carrier, and they will file a claim against the at-fault driver’s insurance carrier. Going this route is similar to how every other vehicle accident works, and you should be able to recover compensation for your medical bills and property damage expenses.
If the at-fault driver’s insurance carrier refuses to offer a fair settlement, it may be necessary for you to file a personal injury lawsuit against the other party in order to move forward with the claim.
If you were at fault for the incident, the other driver will file a claim against your insurance carrier so they can recover compensation for their losses. In this situation, you may not be able to recover compensation for all of your losses, but workers’ compensation insurance may be available.
Workers’ Compensation
If an accident occurs when you are carrying out work-related duties, you may certainly be entitled to workers’ compensation. However, this can get challenging. The workers’ compensation insurance carrier will look specifically at whether or not you were directed by a supervisor to carry out work-related duties in your personal vehicle. If that is the case, then you will likely be covered by workers’ compensation insurance.
This coverage typically provides complete compensation for medical bills associated with an injury, and it may provide up to two-thirds of your lost wages if you are unable to work while recovering.
Contact an Attorney Today
If you have been injured in your personal vehicle while carrying out job-related duties, we encourage you to reach out to a skilled personal injury lawyer as soon as possible.
These claims can be complex, and there may be several routes for you to recover compensation. Your attorney can investigate the incident and help you handle negotiations with insurance carriers.