Off The Record – Workers’ Comp – Work Related Vehicular Accidents

Video Transcript

Craig: Hi, everyone. My name is Craig Rosasco, partner at the law firm of Turley, Redmond and Rosasco. This is my partner, William Turley.

Bill: Hi.

Craig: We’re here to talk to you today about work-related motor vehicle accidents and what the interplay is between your work and your employer, and the car insurance that was involved in the accident. So, we see it all the time, where someone is working and their job involves driving a vehicle, whether it be a company vehicle or their own vehicle, if they’re involved in the course of their employment at the time of the accident, there are two different types of insurance that are in play. My partner, Bill Turley is going to tell you a little bit more about it right now.

Bill: You know, it’s funny, as we’re looking at the window here, a UPS truck just went by. You know, that is a classic example of someone who drives for a living. The more you drive, as you know, the more likelihood you are of having a motor vehicle accident. So, as I said, UPS drivers, you see Amazon Prime drivers out there, those are people who are gonna have a high likelihood of being involved in a motor vehicle accident while they’re driving for work.

But you also have people who don’t necessarily drive for a living but may be using their motor vehicle for an errand or, you know, to travel for business. So, when they get involved in motor vehicle accidents they can file for workers’ compensation benefits, which covers their lost wages, and their medical benefits. And if there’s a permanent disability as a result of the accident, they can make a claim for that. But they can also have the possibility of bringing a lawsuit against the owner, and the operator of the other vehicle or vehicles involved in the accident.

Craig: This is true. And with that other vehicle brings into play the two different types of insurances. And this is an important issue and we deal with it all the time. So, if you’re involved in a work-related car accident, you’re in the scope of your employment at the time of the accident, workers’ compensation insurance is going to take primary coverage, meaning that they’re going to pay all of your medical bills and they will pay two-thirds of your salary.

On the backside of that is the no-fault insurance. If you’re involved in a regular car accident, no-fault will pay all your bills. But, in this case, they don’t because comp is taking primary. However, no-fault will make up the difference between two-thirds, 66.67%, and 80% of your lost wages up to a maximum of 2,000 a month.

So, everything is thrown into the big pot and they expect us attorneys to figure it out. You’re going to need assistance with this. And that’s what we’ve been doing for a living for the last 30 years. Bill may be slightly longer but, on the whole, this is what we do. We break these things down for you and simplify it. So, feel free to give us a call, 855-280-7585. You can get me, and Bill personally on the phone. We are partners, but we practice every day. You’ll see us in the courthouses. You’ll see us meeting with new clients. We are not the senior partners of the norm. We are active practicing partners and feel free to call us. We’ll be glad to help you out.

Bill: And check us out on the web too, www.nydisabilitylaw.com. Thanks for listening.

Craig: See you soon.