WHY ARE WORKERS' COMPENSATION CASES INVOLVING TRUCKERS UNIQUE?

1. Truckers have unique wage rates
Unlike the vast majority of the working public, most truckers do not work on an hourly wage. They are paid by the mile, or they receive a percentage of the amount received by the trucking company for hauling the load. They receive fuel and safety bonuses, loading and unloading pay. They work seven days per week, sometimes weeks at a time. Special attention must be made when calculating the trucker's average weekly wage and the weekly benefits to which the trucker is entitled. Often, insurance adjusters miscalculate the trucker's average earnings and the trucker receives less in workers' compensation benefits than he/she is entitled to.

2. Truckers want local doctors
Truckers, like most people, usually want to be treated by doctors near where they live. If there is a dispute about which doctors the trucker may see, special procedures must be followed in order to protect the trucker's rights, even if the trucker lives outside Nebraska.

3. Truckers may have large earning capacity losses
Many truckers earn high wages. When they are permanently injured and can no longer drive, their ability to continue trucking suffers, as does their ability to earn similar wages in other types of employment. Compared to other workers, truckers routinely suffer greater losses of earning capacity as a result of work related injuries. Thus, skilled representation is necessary to obtain additional compensation for that loss.

4. Truckers may have third party claims
Truckers are often exposed to motor vehicle accidents and warehouse accidents involving third parties. Frequently, recovery can be had from these third parties in addition to that received from the workers' compensation carrier.