First responders often save lives when they arrive at the scene of car crashes. Emergency medical technicians, paramedics, police officers and firefighters may all rush to the scene of the crash after receiving an initial report. They can help extricate injured people from vehicles and provide them with lifesaving emergency care. They may also help move the vehicles to ease traffic congestion and direct oncoming traffic to prevent secondary collisions.
Unfortunately, while doing their jobs, first responders are at risk of injury themselves in a secondary crash scenario. People approaching the crash scene can hit first responders or their vehicles. What happens in crashes caused by careless motorists approaching the scene of a prior crash?
Workers’ compensation coverage is available
The possibility of a car crash injuring a first responder is a well-known job hazard. Anyone who regularly drives or works close to roads is at risk of a vehicle-related incident on the job. First responders, in particular, can’t always wait for traffic to clear up before performing job responsibilities.
Injured first responders are often eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. Even though an outside party, not their employer, is that fault for their injuries, workers’ compensation eligibility does not rely on fault. What matters is that the medical issues the worker has relate directly to their employment.
First responders may be eligible for full medical coverage to pay for their treatment. They may also be eligible for wage replacement benefits through disability that can help them cover expenses until they can return to work.
A lawsuit may also be an option
Injured first responders don’t have to pick just one form of compensation. They can seek basic support through workers’ compensation and simultaneously take legal action against the driver at fault for the crash.
Particularly in cases where drivers cause catastrophic injuries to first responders, lawsuits can be an important means of closing the gap between the total losses a first responder sustains and the coverage available through workers’ compensation.
Carefully reviewing what happened during a secondary car crash with a skilled legal team can help first responder accident victims to secure benefits. There may be coverage available through workers’ compensation and the motor vehicle insurance policy of the driver who endangered them as a result of their unsafe habits.