Workers’ Compensation for Car Accidents on the Job

The first and most important thing to do after any motor vehicle accident is to get all necessary medical help. If able, call the police and make sure an accident report is filed. There are other steps that can be taken to help you make a legal case for compensation if it comes to that.

Take notes and photos, including details about potential witnesses.

• Save all paperwork the incident generates, including receipts for related expenses, and keep a record of all lost wages.
• Be careful what you say, and don’t admit fault.

The California Department of Industrial Relations provides some good advice and information for occupational injury victims:

• Your employer must give or mail you a workers’ comp benefits application form within a day of you reporting your injury.
• If your employer does not give you a claim form, get one from a workers’ comp information and assistance officer. Read everything that comes with the claim form.
• Fill out and sign the employee portion of the form. Describe injuries thoroughly. Include every part of your body affected by the accident. Give the form to your employer. This is called filing the claim form.
• If you mail the form to your employer, use first-class or certified mail and buy a return receipt.

The victim isn’t the only person with an after-accident to-do list. Your employer must:

• Provide a workers’ compensation claim form to you within one working day after a work-related injury or illness is reported
• Return a completed copy of the claim form to you within one working day of receipt
• Forward the claim form, along with the employer’s report of occupational injury or illness, to the claims administrator within one working day of receipt
• Within one day of receiving your claim, authorize up to $10,000 in appropriate medical treatment
• Provide transitional work (light duty) whenever appropriate
• If you are the victim of a crime that happened at work, the employer must give notice of workers’ compensation eligibility within one working day of the crime.

Injuries from a work-related car accident can alter lives beyond recognition. One way to deal with financial damage is to get a qualified workers’ compensation law team on your side.

California crash statistics use numbers to paint a grim picture: ​3,126 people killed, 230,904 people hurt, 2,882 fatal crashes, and 162,742 injury collisions during one recent year. The picture is more gruesome when the word “injury” is replaced with the actual types of car accident injuries and the realities behind them:

• Broken bones: Recovery from bone fracture injuries can take months and leave lasting lingering pain, nerve or blood vessel damage, and eventually arthritis. Blood loss, blood clots, or infection are among the causes of death for fracture victims.
• Back and spinal cord injuries: Degree of injury dictates complexity, length, and effectiveness of treatment. Care can include painful physical and occupational therapy and even vocational rehabilitation. Partial or full paralysis is possible.
• Traumatic head and brain injuries: Head trauma can have lasting, devastating impacts. Loss of cognitive capacity and personality characteristics is likely, along with loss of sensation, motor skills, sight, and hearing. Psychological effects can range from slight depression to a lifetime in a vegetative state.
• Whiplash: Symptoms can range from neck pain and stiffness to headaches, dizziness, tingling or numbness in the arms, blurred vision, ringing in the ears, trouble sleeping, difficulty concentrating, problems with memory, and depression. Effects can be short-term, but some people suffer long-term chronic pain and other complications.
• Burns: Along with first-, second-, and third-degree burns, accident victims can suffer smoke and heat inhalation that can cause internal burns, carbon monoxide poisoning, and damage from inhaled toxins. Treatment can mean months of hospitalization fighting serious infection and undergoing multiple skin grafts and other surgeries, psychological/ psychiatric care, and a variety of rehabilitative therapies.
• Sprains and strains: A sprain is the stretching or tearing of ligaments. Symptoms can be slow to appear, and the pain can be chronic. Strains are the stretching or tearing of tendons and/or muscles. Treatments for both run the gamut from ice packs and elevation of the injured area to painkillers, physical therapy, and surgeries.
• Cuts and bruises: Scrapes and bruises also can signal serious internal injuries. A medical assessment can identify underlying injuries that could go unnoticed and become more problematic without care.

Damage done in seconds in. a car accident can last a lifetime – or end one. Partial or full paralysis and death are among the potential consequences. Crippling financial damage can result, too, so it helps to know how to position yourself for financial recovery after a crash.