How to Handle Truck Driver & Delivery Driver Injuries with L&I

At Washington Law Center, we are very familiar with the injuries/occupational diseases suffered by truck drivers and delivery drivers. At any one time, we represent numerous workers injured in this line of work. Whether it’s climbing in and out of cabs, tying down loads, manipulating cargo during delivery or just the process of sitting while suffering over the road vibrations; truck driving and delivery drivers can take a tremendous toll on the body. In addition, truck and delivery drivers are often the victims of motor vehicle accidents in which non-professional drivers cause injurious accidents to the professionals. These are just some of the examples of ways professional truck drivers get injured or worn down over time.  Either way, a workers’ compensation or Labor & Industries claim should be filed in Washington.

At Washington Law Center, we are very familiar with the injuries/occupational diseases suffered by truck drivers and delivery drivers. At any one time, we represent numerous workers injured in this line of work. Whether it’s climbing in and out of cabs, tying down loads, manipulating cargo during delivery or just the process of sitting while suffering over the road vibrations; truck driving and delivery drivers can take a tremendous toll on the body. In addition, truck and delivery drivers are often the victims of motor vehicle accidents in which non-professional drivers cause injurious accidents to the professionals. These are just some of the examples of ways professional truck drivers get injured or worn down over time.  Either way, a workers’ compensation or Labor & Industries claim should be filed in Washington.

What You Need to Know as an Injured Truck Driver:

Source: Washington State Department of Labor & Industries

Truck drivers that are injured at work have a legal responsibility to immediately report their injury to their employer, per RCW 51.28.010. In turn, the employer has a legal responsibility to immediately report that an injured worker is claiming an industrial accident or occupational disease, per RCW 51.28.025. At the same time, the moment a work injury claim is filed, the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries or the employer may typically begin an aggressive and sophisticated effort in defense of that claim. Why? Because the truck driver injury rate is more than three times the injury rate of all other Washington industries combined! The expenses related to truck driver injuries and occupational diseases are also significantly higher on average than for other worker classifications. Injury pensions (lifetime benefits) are more likely to result.  Accordingly, both the Department of Labor & Industries and affected employers typically mount substantial defenses against driver claims, including those in the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) classifications of 4841 (General Freight Trucking), 4842 (Specialized Freight Trucking), 492 (Couriers and Messengers) and 562 (Waste Collection).

What You Need to Do as an Injured Truck Driver:

1. Call an experienced L&I attorney immediately! At Washington Law Center, our attorneys will talk you through the process and ensure that your rights are protected and your claim is properly managed. Your claim will be evaluated thoroughly with an eye for defense once it has been reported.
2. Do not make any statements. If you have already made statements, stop making statements about the circumstances of your injury, any pre-existing medical conditions or the role these may or may not have played in the accident. Essentially you should not say anything else about your industrial injury or occupational disease until you have spoken with an L&I attorney at the Washington Law Center.
3. If you are at work, politely inform your supervisor that you need to leave to seek medical care. You’ll be happy to discuss what happened later, but now you need to get to the doctor.
4. Make notes about who was on the job with you (including employees from other companies), what work was being performed, and what happened to cause your injury.
5. Leave the job site and go to an urgent care center or an emergency room. Immediately report your injury or occupational disease to a physician.  Make sure you have identified your belief that your injury or new symptoms are occupationally-related and that you want the medical expenses to be processed as a workers’ compensation claim.

Then, if you haven’t already, call an attorney at Washington Law Center for help.  If all of this occurs after hours, call in sick the next morning and then speak to our attorneys for immediate guidance.

Examples of Truck Driver Injuries and Occupational Diseases We’ve Represented:

Example 1:

A man walks into our office to discuss a non-injury legal matter.  He is aging and stiff, obviously in physical discomfort.  When asked why he’s struggling, he lists almost all parts of his body as just being “worn out.”  When asked what he does for a living, he responds that he is a truck driver, now working a “no-touch” delivery route because he can no longer manipulate loads or heavy packages.  He has had pre-existing injuries to many of his affected body parts, but never filed an Labor & Industries claim.  His employer had watched him decline over the years, but has not suggested using L&I.

Our attorneys immediately got him to an appropriate occupational medicine physician and, despite significant push-back from an L&I Claims Manager, helped him establish an occupation disease claim for a neck strain, lumbar strain, bilateral shoulder strain and bilateral knee strain.  As a result of our representation, this man has received more than $111,000 in time-loss benefits, additional money in social security disability insurance benefits, and may likely obtain a lifetime pension.

Example 2:

A woman is injured in Nebraska while sleeping as her co-driver was driving.  The co-driver was cut off by a reckless driver, causing the co-driver to evade in a way that threw our client into the wall of her sleeping compartment.

Our client was not a Washington state resident, nor was she injured in Washington, but her Nebraska workers’ compensation claim was being contested.  We then helped her file and win a claim in Washington based on the fact that her employer’s headquarters is in Washington.  She has since received significant benefits, including those which covered surgery expenses and time loss-benefits.  She continues to live out-of-state.  She is expected to receive significant permanent partial disability benefits at the end of her claim.

Example 3:

A truck driver suffered through many years of climbing into and out of a truck cab, constantly suffering strain on his knees.  One day, he slipped from the step as he was getting into his truck, causing him to strain his left knee.  The Department of Labor & Industries took the position that he had “pre-existing” knee arthritis, so the Department was not responsible for his total knee replacement.

Our attorneys plead theories of both occupational disease and acute injury. We successfully won his case, as well as his right to a total knee replacement covered under the L&I system.  He eventually received tens of thousands of dollars in time-loss and permanent partial disability benefits before he was able to successfully return to work.

If you are a truck driver or delivery driver and believe your work either caused or contributed to a significant medical condition (including “joint pain”), please give the attorneys of Washington Law Center a call.  We can and will help you.