People who have been injured on the job may be aware of workers’ compensation benefits. Massachusetts workers’ compensation laws provide a mechanism for injured workers to seek benefits to cover medical costs and money to cover a portion of wages after suffering a work-related injury.
But, the existence of workers’ comp laws do not bar a person from seeking additional damages if a person other than the employer was negligent in causing the accident.
Third-party claims may arise on a busy construction site where many companies may be operating. Temporary workers may be injured when working at the site of a third-party company. Another area where third-party claims can occur involves jobs where a person drives for work-related duties.
Delivery drivers, for instance, may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits after a wreck. If another driver was negligent in causing that accident, a third-party claim may also be available.
Authorities say that a 35-year-old man was injured in an accident while driving a delivery truck for the Boston Globe last week. The accident victim, a Brockton, Massachusetts, resident, was hospitalized after an alleged drunk driver slammed her Cadillac into the delivery truck on Interstate 93 last Monday. The force of the crash forced the truck over a guardrail along the interstate. The delivery truck plummeted some 40 feet before landing on an exit ramp.
The 25-year-old Everett, Massachusetts, woman is facing charges in criminal court for her alleged role in the crash. The truck driver, meanwhile, suffered personal injuries requiring a trip to the hospital—state police characterize the delivery truck driver’s injuries as non-life-threatening.
Source: Boston Globe, “Drunken driving blamed in I-93 accident,” Travis Andersen and Jasper Craven, Aug. 5, 2013
