With the way the world runs today, there are many jobs that lack a fixed workplace. You could work out of your home for a company based on the other side of the country. You could travel from state to state, working for a company based in your hometown. You could work from anywhere you find comfortable as long as you have a single laptop. The possibilities are endless, and being stuck in an office all day is quickly becoming a thing of the past for many individuals.
If you’re injured in a car accident and your employment situation is one mentioned previously, what does that mean for workers’ compensation? Are you eligible for workers’ comp if you don’t work at a specific location day after day? The following are some things you should understand.
Individuals Who Work From Home
If you work from home, you may or may not be able to claim workers’ compensation. If you are a private contractor, possibly as a writer or seamstress, you don’t have compensation under the company you contract with. If you are an actual employee of that company, you would typically receive compensation after a workplace injury.
You should also keep in mind, your injury must arise out of something that happened during the course of employment. If you work from home and decide to run a personal errand to the dry cleaner on a break, your car accident injuries wouldn’t be covered under workers’ compensation. If you are driving to your employer’s office to drop off some paperwork when the accident occurs, those injuries would probably make you eligible for workers’ comp.
Individuals Who Work On the Road
When someone drives from location to location as his or her employment, car accident injuries are typically covered under workers’ compensation. As with any other workers’ comp claim, the accident must have occurred during the course of his or her job. If you are a truck driver, for example, and you are injured in an accident while driving a night shift, you could be compensated. If you are home for the weekend and are in an accident while running an errand for your spouse, you wouldn’t be compensated.
Getting Things Squared Away
As you can see, each employment situation is unique, and workers’ comp cases should all be handled on an individual basis. Contact a workers’ compensation lawyer, like a workers compensation lawyer from The Law Offices of Mark T. Hurt, today to begin getting things squared away for your case.