What Happens When You’re Injured in an Accident in a Work Vehicle?

If you’ve been injured in an accident in a work vehicle in Sydney, either as a driver or passenger, you may be entitled to claim personal injury compensation under the Compulsory Third Party (CTP / Green Slip) Scheme. Insurance companies that usually handle these types of claims are responsible for paying the smallest settlement amount possible, their lawyers know that people who handle their own claims without legal representation do not have strong enough medical evidence or legal expertise to get the most compensation from their personal injury claim.

Insurance companies dealing with injured people directly will often cover your medical expenses and make an offer to settle for a very small amount of money – and then subtract the amount they’ve paid for your medical and treatment expenses from your settlement, leaving you with even less. Once a compensation claim is settled it is final, there is no going back for more money, that is why it’s so important to obtain legal advice regarding your claim from an expert motor vehicle accident injury lawyer in Sydney.

At Marshall & Gibson Compensation Lawyers Sydney we will manage your claim for you and deal with the insurance company throughout every step of the claims process, in addition to providing expert legal representation in your motor vehicle accident claim, we have access to specialist barristers, medical professionals and other experts that can help us maximise your compensation settlement amount.

How to make a claim if you’re injured in a work vehicle accident

• Report the accident to the police within 28 days, failing to do this could affect your claim
• To be entitled to immediate reimbursement of medical expenses and loss of wages (up to $5000), you must submit an Accident Notification Form (ANF) within 28 days of the accident to the Motor Accidents Authority (MAA)
• Lodge a Personal Injury Claim Form within 6 months of the accident to the CTP / Greenslip insurer of the at fault motor vehicle
• Obtain expert legal representation to ensure you receive the maximum settlement amount possible for your motor vehicle injury compensation claim

Car accident injury compensation lawyers Sydney

At Marshall & Gibson Compensation Lawyers Sydney we specialise in personal injury claims resulting from motor vehicle accidents.

We have a proven track record having won over 99% of our motor vehicle accident injury cases. We’re so confident in our legal expertise with motor vehicle accident compensation claims that with our “No Win-No Fee” basis, you only pay if we win your claim for you.

Call us today on 1800 675 417 or send us an email for your free, no obligation case evaluation by one of our senior compensation lawyers.

Will your employer’s insurance cover you?

If you are driving a work vehicle in Sydney and you have a car accident, will your employer’s insurance cover you?

In normal circumstances, your employer has a legal ‘duty of care’ to provide you with a safe workplace, which also extends to a company vehicle. So, if you have a car accident, your employer would therefore be responsible for your actions, and his or her insurance company would pick up the tab.

However, that’s not always the case. Whether your employer is responsible for your actions can depend on factors such as:

• Whether you were using the vehicle for work purposes
• Whether you caused the accident through negligence or wilful misconduct
• Whether you are an employee or an independent contractor.

Work purposes

Your employer may not be responsible for your accident if you were using the work vehicle for reasons outside the normal scope of your employment. Reasonable use of a company vehicle would include attending to work-related matters or driving to and from work.

Reasons beyond the scope of normal employment would include activities outside normal working hours, such as doing the shopping, going on holiday, or running the kids to soccer practice. Using the vehicle during working hours, but for purposes not authorised by your employer, would also fall into this category.

Negligence or misconduct

If you were using the vehicle in a manner that could be considered to be ‘serious or wilful misconduct’, your employer may not be liable for the damage you caused.

Serious or wilful misconduct would include actions such as driving recklessly, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or intentionally causing a motor vehicle accident for whatever reason.

Your employer may also not be liable for your accident if it can be shown that you acted negligently; for example, not putting the handbrake on when parked on a hill, or leaving the vehicle unlocked in a high-crime neighbourhood.

You may also be liable if you breached the terms of your employment contract, which may have particular clauses relating to the care of company vehicles.

Employee or contractor

If you are an independent contractor driving your own vehicle on business for another person, you would normally be liable for any accident you caused. If you were driving another person’s vehicle on business for them, then they may be responsible for the damage.

If you are not sure whether you are an employee or a contractor, consider whether the person you work for provides you with sick pay, holiday pay, superannuation or workers compensation. If they do any of these things on your behalf, then you are most likely an employee and not an independent contractor.

Who is to blame in accidents involving work vehicles can be a complex matter, so if you have had an accident in a company vehicle and you aren’t sure who should pay, you would be wise to seek legal advice from a car accident lawyer as soon as possible.