“A person’s only got one body to live with and get through life on,” said Rod Rehm of www.truckerlawyers.com. He is a workers’ compensation attorney who has worked extensively with injured truckers.
Mr. Rehm recently appeared on the America’s Truckin’ Network show with host Steve Sommers. Discussion between the two touched on many points of the workers’ compensation systems in the nation, which vary by state. They also took both calls and emails from drivers who had specific questions and challenges about work injuries and workers’ compensation, because trucking is a dangerous industry with many hazards.
Please listen to the podcasts below for more complete information, but here are some details from the two podcasts.
“Workers’ compensation is a longstanding program in all the states to protect and help truck drivers when they get hurt, and they get hurt a lot,” Rehm said. Although whether it’s the worker’s fault or not doesn’t really come into play in workers’ compensation, if you get hurt on the job.
Truck drivers and others who travel for a living come under a “special scenario.”
“Pretty much anything that happens when you’re away from home earning money for a company is going to be the responsibility of the company,” he told Sommers.
As an example, think about the following scenario.
“If it’s a single traumatic event, let’s say you trip getting out of the truck or slipped, didn’t jump down, and you broke an ankle. On that accident event … you should report right away as a work injury, and the vast majority of people do. You would become entitled to medical care for that almost immediately, and if you had to miss work, you’d be entitled to some sort of compensation while you’re missing work to heal up from that broken ankle,” Rehm said.
Other issues they discussed during the show included repetitive motion problems, vibration injuries, carpal tunnel syndrome, pre-existing conditions aggravated by driving truck, and work restrictions for injured workers. Included were pointers on when you need help from an attorney, for example, when a trucking company uses a transitional duty station away from the driver’s home base to control a hurt worker’s medical care.
They also discussed specific issues involved with workers’ compensation and truckers, as workers’ compensation does differ from health insurance. Misperceptions about workers’ compensation were addressed, too.
America’s Truckin’ Network runs from 11 p.m. through 4 a.m. (midnight to 5 a.m. Eastern Time) on 700 WLW-AM out of Cincinnati, and the chance to help educate truckers about workers’ compensation is greatly appreciated.
Rules can vary from state to state, and jurisdictional issues can be complicated for truckers, so be sure to check with an experienced workers’ compensation attorney or contact the firm through www.truckerlawyers.com with details for specific situations. Mr. Rehm has represented truckers for over 30 years, 15 of which have been through the website www.truckerlawyers.com.
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