Tag Archives: driving

Long Lonesome Highway West Of Omaha*: Traveling And Employment Risk In Workers’ Compensation

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Employment risk and travelling legally intertwined for the purposes of workers’ compensation. For a workers’ compensation lawyer in Nebraska, they are also intertwined on a personal level.

Back on Friday January 12th, I drove 40 minutes south to Beatrice, Nebraska for a workers’ compensation trial where the main issue of the case was whether an employee who injured herself going out to roll up her car windows during a rain storm had an injury that related to her employment.

After that trial, I drove about an hour west for a client meeting in Thayer County and returned to Lincoln. I stayed up late the night before and woke up early that morning getting ready for a difficult trial. It was a long drive home.

Four weeks later, on Friday February 9th, I filed my final brief in the Beatrice case from a truck stop in Grand Island after a deposition and client meeting in Grand Island. I probably could have driven back to Lincoln and filed my brief, but I wanted to get my brief filed so I didn’t have to worry about it and potentially severe winter weather on the drive home.

Earlier this week, I negotiated a settlement in another case while traveling from Pierce County in northeast Nebraska back to Lincoln. I finalized the settlement with the opposing attorney while they were travelling.

Fatigue, weather and the temptation of using mobile devices while driving are risks for a workers’ compensation lawyer in Nebraska or anyone who must drive long distances for work in Nebraska or anywhere else. For white collar employees like me, driving is by far the biggest occupational hazard that would be covered under the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Act.

Nebraska law holds that employees injured while travelling for work are covered by workers’ compensation so long as they are engaged in the employer’s business. This is referred to as the commercial traveler rule. The question becomes what exactly is the employer’s business? This question can arise for all employees, not just travelling employees. In my case involving the employee who hurt herself going outside to roll up her car windows in a rainstorm, the court found that employee’s injury was covered by workers’ compensation because she was taking a break for personal convenience. Injuries that take place during breaks for personal comfort or convenience are generally held to be compensable or covered by workers’ compensation.

In the context of a travelling employee, if I had injured myself last Tuesday afternoon while getting lunch at a Subway in York, that injury probably would have been covered by workers’ compensation.

But not all injuries on a job site or while travelling for work are compensable. If an employee is injured while doing something strictly for a personal reason not connected to work, then that injury is not compensable. For example, an injury while travelling to an extra-marital rendezvous during a business trip would likely not be covered by workers’ compensation.

While injuries incurred during personal comfort breaks such as bathroom or meal breaks tend to be covered, injuries while an employee engages in an act of personal convenience are more controversial. They are what we call in the lawyer trade “fact intensive inquiries.” In layman’s terms, it depends on the circumstances. Is the break paid? What are the break policies? How does the break benefit the employer? How much did the errand or break deviate from employment duties? What are the exact employment duties? Injuries involving breaks for personal convenience present difficult factual and legal questions to which there are no easy one-size-fits-all answers.

*Yes, I am paraphrasing “Turn the Page” by Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band. For the record, the original “Turn the Page” is far superior to the Metallica cover.

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

This entry was posted in employment law, Workers' Compensation and tagged , , , , , , .

Consider These Car Accident Tips to Avoid Missteps

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No one ever intentionally plans to get in a car accident or get hurt at work. But unfortunately bad things sometimes happen in life. And a person’s response to those situations can sometimes affect what happens from a legal perspective. Also remember that if you travel as part of your job, or if traveling is your job, like in the case of truck drivers, vehicle accidents are often covered under workers’ compensation. Here are some recommended tips to avoid potential legal pitfalls later.

What to do when you’ve been in a car accident:

  1. Call the police (or 911 if necessary).
  2. Exchange information with the other driver (name, contact info, driver’s license number, license plate, auto insurance).
  3. Obtain witnesses: Get names and contact info for any witnesses even if the police have already spoken to that person. If possible, obtain written statements from willing witnesses.
  4. Gather evidence: Take pictures or videos of the accident scene, the damage to all vehicles, and any noticeable injuries.
  5. Write notes of the date, time, location, weather, how the accident happened, and any other details that you can remember (speed, traffic signals, turn signals, headlights, brake lights, cell phone usage, etc.).
  6. Go to your doctor: make sure to tell your doctor how you were injured, and be sure to discuss all injuries, even ones that seem insignificant at that time.
  7. Contact your insurance company, and report the accident. Your auto insurance will likely pay for at least some of your medical bills.
  8. Do not give a recorded statement without contacting a lawyer.

You should talk to a lawyer when you’ve been in a car accident IF:

  1. You don’t know what kind of compensation/money you are entitled to
  2. The insurance company is asking you for a recorded statement
  3. The insurance company denies your claim
  4. There is a question of which driver is at fault
  5. The police report is incomplete or inaccurate
  6. The other driver does not have insurance or does not have enough insurance coverage
  7. You have unpaid medical bills
  8. You have permanent disability or constant pain
  9. There are complicated legal or medical issues
  10. You have missed more than a few days of work

Do your best to drive defensively, and safe travels.

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

This entry was posted in Workers' Comp Q & A, Workers' Comp' Basics, Workers' Compensation and tagged , , .

To Grandmother’s House We Go: Drive Safely Please!

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Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house we go ….

Whatever your version of this song is, very few people are taking a horse and sleigh “over the river” anymore, and many would be taxing their horses’ abilities because they live so far away from family! Today’s reality is that with more than 93 million people traveling, which approaches a 2006 record, folks will have to be patient with each other. “AAA expects 84.4 million people to travel by car more than 50 miles from home at the height of the season,” which officially started last Saturday and lasts through Jan. 1, 2013, according to the USA Today article.

Nebraska and Iowa still have snow on the ground while recovering from last week’s blizzard. So the roads will be even more treacherous to drive in the next few days because of weather conditions. It always bears repeating that especially during the holidays, folks should take extra time, drive defensively, and watch out for the other driver. This blog post written by firm owner Rod Rehm last year includes tips on How to Stay Safe on Snowy Roads, which will definitely be useful for the current conditions.

But there is another group of dedicated people who I think holiday drivers take for granted and don’t always respect for the professionals they are: truckers. These two groups on Facebook, Land Line Magazine – The Official Publication of OOIDA, and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration both recently shared the following blog post from the United States Department of Transportation: It’s not a holiday for everyone; America’s freight never stops moving. A quote from Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator Anne Ferro from the blog post said it very well, I thought, and was exactly the concern on which I wanted to focus when I started writing today’s blog post.

“Let’s give these drivers back a gift we can all live with. When driving near a large truck, please keep out of their ‘no- zones,’ the areas alongside or behind a truck where the driver can’t see your car. Letting them see your vehicle will help all of us stay a little safer this holiday, and every day,” Ferro said.

And I would add that in addition to being a safer way to travel, it also is a way to be respectful of the good job that the vast majority of truckers do day in and day out to deliver their loads to us for our convenience and consumption. This is often at risk to themselves and their work also keeps them away from their families for weeks or months at a time.

So because we all want to get home safely to family, please be careful and take care traveling wherever you’re headed. And a special thank you to all, truckers, nurses, first responders and folks in other occupations who can’t be with their families because they are serving the public and keeping us safe. Have a great holiday season and safe 2013!

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

This entry was posted in travel and tagged , , , , .

How To Stay Safe On Snowy Roads

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Follow these tips to stay safe on winter roads.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently launched a fantastic web page on how to stay safe if you have to work during or after a winter storm.

If the weather is poor, staying off the road is clearly the best thing to do. However, if you have to drive during a winter storm, here are some great tips OSHA offers on preparing your vehicle for dangerous weather.

Inspect your vehicle thoroughly.

  • Brakes: Make sure they provide balanced and even breaking. Check that the brake fluid is at the proper level.
  • Cooling System: Ensure the proper mixture of 50/50 antifreeze and water.
  • Electrical: Check the ignition and makes sure the battery is fully charged and that the connectors are clean. Check that the alternator belt is in good condition.
  • Engine: Inspect all engine systems.
  • Exhaust: Check the exhaust for leaks and that the clamps and hangers are snug.
  • Tires: Check for good tread depth and for signs of damage or uneven wear. Check inflation.
  • Visibility: Inspect exterior lights, defrosters, and wipers. Install winter wipers. _ Check your oil levels.

Bring a winter emergency kit including:

  • Blankets / sleeping bags
  • Cell phone
  • Windshield scaper
  • Snow brush
  • Flashlight with fresh batteries
  • Extra winter clothes
  • Shovel
  • Tow chain
  • Matches
  • Traction aids (sand or cat litter)
  • Emergency flares
  • Jumper cables
  • Snacks and water
  • Road maps

And keep at least a half tank of gas in your vehicle at all times!

OSHA’s page is a rich source of information and I highly recommend taking a look.

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

This entry was posted in Preventing Injury and tagged , , , .