Pittsburgh Transportation Worker Injury Lawyers
Strong advocacy for injured commercial drivers and other transportation workers
Ambulance drivers, truck drivers, bus drivers, and all other types of transportation workers provide valuable services to the Pittsburgh community. They deliver the consumer and commercial goods we need. They transport people to work, school, neighbors, and the great sights of Pittsburgh. When transportation workers are injured while driving, loading, or unloading their vehicles; they deserve the maximum workers’ compensation that Pennsylvania law permits.
At Carmody and Ging, Attorneys at Law, our Pittsburgh transportation injury lawyers help employees get back on the road – when you’re ready, not when your boss pressures you to return. We work with your doctors to verify your injuries and the treatment you require, even if you need a lifetime of medical care. We fight to obtain the temporary wage loss benefits you need and the permanent disability benefits you deserve.
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What would you like to know?
- What are the different types of transportation work in Pittsburgh?
- What kinds of injuries do transportation workers suffer?
- What are the requirements for filing a workers’ compensation claim in Pittsburgh?
- What if my accident happened during my commute?
- What benefits are available in a Pittsburgh workers’ compensation claim?
- How can a Pittsburgh workers’ compensation attorney help?
- Do you have a transportation injury workers’ compensation lawyer near me?
What are the different types of transportation work in Pittsburgh?
At Carmody and Ging, we represent all types of transportation workers, including those who travel short distances each day and those who travel across the country. We represent workers who use trucks, cars, buses, and all other types of vehicles.
Contact us if you were injured while performing any of the following:
- Commercial truck deliveries. These jobs include deliveries in Pennsylvania and across state lines. Drivers operate semis, rigs, tractor-trailers, and other long-haul vehicles.
- Construction trucks. Many road and building construction projects use trucks to deliver and remove all types of materials and equipment to the work site.
- Local delivery services. These jobs include drivers for companies that deliver food and store purchases to local consumers.
- Healthcare vehicles. Pittsburgh workers who drive ambulances and emergency transport vehicles may have the right to file a workers’ compensation claim.
- Salespeople. Many workers in Pennsylvania use their cars or a company car to meet with clients and consumers at their offices or their homes.
- Passenger vehicles. These include buses, taxis, rideshare services such as Uber and Lyft, local shuttles, and other private or public passenger transport vehicles.
- Moving companies. These jobs involve moving the personal or business possessions of an owner from one location to another.
Other jobs that involve transportation include distribution and warehouse jobs, jobs involving boats and other forms of water transportation, subway workers, and workers in the oil and gas exploration industry.
What kinds of injuries do transportation workers suffer?
Our Pittsburgh transportation injury lawyers represent employees who suffer any type of injury that forces them to take time off from work, including:
- Broken bones/fractures
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord damage or paralysis
- Burn injuries
- Nerve, ligament, muscle, or tissue damage
- Neck, shoulder, and back injuries
- Internal organ damage
- Traumatic amputation/limb loss
- Repetitive stress injuries
- Electrocution injuries
Transportation injuries also include injuries that occur when a vehicle is not in operation. Many transportation workers in Western Pennsylvania are hurt while loading or unloading trucks, repairing vehicles, or just getting in and out of the vehicle.
What are the requirements for filing a workers’ compensation claim in Pittsburgh?
First, please understand that liability is not an issue when filing a Pittsburgh workers’ compensation claim. There is no analysis of whether someone or even you caused the accident. The injuries that workers suffer are mostly the same injuries that can occur in any type of traffic accident.
One of the key issues that Carmody and Ging will review with you is your work status. Generally, only employees can file a workers’ compensation claim. Independent contractors need to file a personal injury claim, which is much different than a workers’ compensation claim. Do not assume that just because your employer says that you’re a contractor that you cannot file a claim. Our lawyers often argue that a contractor qualifies as an employee.
A second key issue is that your injuries must occur while you are working for your employer in the scope of your job duties. For example, if you are hired to make a delivery for your employer and you are injured while making that delivery, you should be able to file for workers’ compensation. If however, you also use your truck to go to the Pittsburgh Steelers game after that delivery is complete and you get into an accident, you cannot file a workers’ compensation claim.
To summarize, you must be an employee and you must be injured while working for your employer. A third key requirement is that you must be involved in an accident, or your injuries must be due to the stress of your job.
If you develop an illness through your transportation job, you may be able to file an occupational illness claim. For example, an ambulance driver who contracts a disease while transporting a patient, may have an occupational illness claim.
What if my accident happened during my commute?
Many transportation workers must commute to their jobs. Generally, if you are injured while commuting to or from your job, you cannot claim workers’ compensation benefits. However, there are exceptions. You may be entitled to file a claim if you were running an errand for your employer or meeting a client along the way to work.
Workers who use their cars may also be entitled to file a Pittsburgh workers’ compensation claim if they get into a car accident while traveling to a company social function.
What benefits are available in a Pittsburgh workers’ compensation claim?
Our Pittsburgh workers’ compensation lawyers seek all the benefits Pennsylvania’s workers’ compensation laws permit. These benefits include:
- Payment of all your medical bills while you seek care to improve your health and also obtain care to keep your health from worsening.
- Temporary disability benefits. Generally, Pittsburgh transportation workers are entitled to 2/3 of their average weekly wages while they are treating to stabilize their health.
- Permanent disability benefits. Once your condition stabilizes, your doctor will evaluate your condition to determine if you have a permanent injury and the severity (impairment level) of that injury. Workers who qualify are entitled to additional benefits – possibly for up to 500 weeks.
If you can work while you have a temporary or a permanent disability – but not at the level you did before your injury – a partial adjustment of your wage benefit is made.
Some workers who can work in new jobs if they are trained or educated may be entitled to vocational training benefits.
How can a Pittsburgh workers’ compensation attorney help?
Rest assured, we know all the tricks and stops that insurance companies use to try to defeat your claim. We work with your doctors and independent physicians when the carrier questions how injured or ill you are. We work with vocational experts when employers argue there are other jobs you can do. We explain when and how you must comply with employer requests for independent medical exams (IMEs) or requests that you work with a nurse case manager, as well as when you don’t.
Do you have a transportation injury workers’ compensation lawyer near me?
Our Pittsburgh workers’ compensation lawyers meet clients at our office located at 801 Vinial Street in Pittsburgh, on the 3rd floor of the Deutschtown Center building. We’re right across the street from Penn Brewery. You should be able to park onsite. You can also reach Carmody and Ging by taking the bus to the Troy Hill Road stop nearby. If your health prevents you from coming to our office, don’t worry. We’ll connect with you in other ways. We do conduct video conferences. We also meet injured workers away from the office when necessary.
Our transportation injury lawyers understand the arguments your employer may make to deny or limit your claim. Rest assured. We’re ready to challenge those arguments. We’ll fight to obtain all the medical and wage benefits you can claim.
Talk to a respected Pittsburgh transportation injury lawyer now
Stop worrying. Get answers to your questions. At Carmody and Ging, we’ll guide you step-by-step through the workers’ compensation process. Our transportation workers’ compensation lawyers are skilled at speaking with your doctors, negotiating with insurance companies, and arguing your claim before the court. We’ll contest the efforts by your employer to force you back to work early or to contest your claim. To schedule a free consultation with an experienced Pittsburgh transportation injury lawyer, please call 412.281.2929 or complete our contact form. We take great pride in helping Western Pennsylvania employees begin their lives again.
