If you have been injured while traveling for work in Kentucky, you may qualify for workers’ compensation benefits. You should contact a knowledgeable workers’ compensation lawyer to understand your rights. Workers’ compensation coverage provides medical care and monetary payments when an injured employee cannot work due to a work-related injury or occupational disease.
In most cases, workers’ compensation will not pay for an injury suffered while commuting between your home and your workplace. However, an injury may qualify for coverage if travel is a job requirement. You should ask about workers’ compensation benefits if you have been injured in a car accident during business travel, in an accident at a client’s office, or during employee travels.
Unfortunately, many injured employees who need workers’ compensation benefits are unfamiliar with their rights. Most workers don’t know what types of travel accident compensation workers’ comp law provides. Some employers and insurance companies discourage workers’ compensation claims in hopes of saving money.
This is why it’s a good idea for an injured employee to consult a workers’ compensation lawyer any time an on-the-job injury puts them out of work. Our law firm, Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer, offers a free case evaluation to review your legal options. Our law firm has recovered more than $300 million in workers’ compensation benefits for our hardworking Kentucky clients in Lexington and in towns across Kentucky. Our lawyers are known for their Kentucky Courage when standing up to insurance companies on behalf of injured workers. We are ready to fight for you.
Were You On the Job When Injured?
In general, an employee is eligible for workers’ compensation if he or she suffers an injury arising from the course and scope of employment and the employee is unable to return to work for a week or longer because of the injury. Many work-related injuries happen at job sites. But workers’ compensation also covers injuries sustained away from the workplace if the employee is on the clock and engaged in work duties when the accident occurs.
If you drive as part of your job and are injured in a car accident while working, your injuries should be covered by workers’ compensation. This applies to commercial drivers, delivery drivers, and accidents that occur while traveling between your employer’s office locations during a workday.
Non-driving accidents, such as a slip-and-fall accident that occurs while at the destination of business-related travel, may also qualify for benefits. This would include accidents at business meetings or work-sponsored trade shows, for example.
However, under the coming-and-going rule, an employee’s daily commute is not part of the job. Injuries that occur during the daily commute generally are not covered by workers’ compensation. But there are exceptions to the coming and going rule.
Kentucky courts have said workers’ comp may cover an employee’s injury if it occurs on the employer’s operating premises. An employee remains in the course of his or her employment for the reasonable amount of time required to arrive at or depart from their work site. In Barnette v. Hospital of Louisa, Inc., 64 S.W.3d 828 (Ky. 2002), the court said a worker injured while on the employer’s operating premises solely to pick up her paycheck was covered because picking up her pay was a work-related activity.
An injury that occurs while the worker is on a personal mission that substantially deviates from their employment is not considered work-related, even if it occurs on the employer’s operating premises.
You should discuss the facts of your accident with an experienced workers’ compensation attorney.
What To Do Immediately After a Work Travel Injury?
If you are injured while traveling for work, you should do your best to document what has happened to you. You should:
- Contact a workers’ compensation lawyer. Don’t be left wondering whether your injuries should be covered by workers comp benefits. A Kentucky worker’s compensation lawyer can review what happened to you and help you seek the full workers’ comp travel accident compensation you are eligible to claim under Kentucky law.
- Seek medical attention. Inform the medical provider that the accident occurred while you were at work. Keep copies of medical records documenting your injury.
- Notify your employer. Report the accident to your employer promptly. Your employer must notify their workers’ compensation insurance carrier of an employee’s work-related injury within three working days of being notified by the employee.
- Document everything. Save records and receipts, and take notes and photos to document accident details, medical treatment, witnesses, and expenses. Save a copy of any work memo or email that identifies why you were traveling for work. All of this will be useful if your employer disputes your workers’ compensation claim.
What Workers’ Comp Could I Receive for a Travel Injury?
Workers’ compensation benefits in Kentucky generally cover three major areas:
- All medical expenses related to the covered injury,
- Payment of about two-thirds of the employee’s average weekly wage while out of work,
- Payments for injuries that result in permanent impairment.
Numerous factors can affect the amount of benefits awarded by a workers’ comp administrative law judge or in a workers’ compensation settlement negotiated with a workers’ compensation insurer. The employee’s age, average weekly wages, prospects for returning to work, and impairment rating can all affect the amount of compensation.
Are There Other Options for Compensation?
If you are injured while driving as part of workday travel and another motorist was at fault, you may have a right to file a claim against the at-fault driver and demand compensation for your injuries. A car accident attorney at Morgan, Collings, Yeast & Salyer can review the details of the auto accident and discuss whether you are eligible to pursue a personal injury lawsuit against another driver.
As your workers’ compensation attorneys, Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer will examine all possibilities for pursuing a third-party claim and seeking additional compensation for you.
Contact Our Kentucky Workers’ Comp Attorneys Today
If you have suffered an injury while traveling for your job in Kentucky, don’t wait for your workers’ compensation claim to be denied so you can get legal guidance. Workers’ compensation insurance is designed to protect employees injured in legitimate workplace accidents. Our workers’ compensation lawyers at Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer can help you demand the full workers’ comp benefits available by law. Our law firm offers a free consultation to all prospective clients to discuss your legal options.
If we don’t recover workers’ compensation benefits for you, you will not owe us a fee for our legal assistance.
