Bentonville J.B. Hunt Employee Workers’ Compensation Lawyer

J.B. Hunt is one of the largest employers in Bentonville and a huge employer throughout the region.  Primarily employing truck drivers and trucking workers, J.B. Hunt has millions of drivers and other employees who could face injuries on the job.

If you or a loved one was hurt while working for J.B. Hunt in the Bentonville area or anywhere else in Arkansas, our Bentonville J.B. Hunt Workers’ Compensation lawyer might be able to help.  Ken Kieklak, Attorney at Law, has been handling Workers’ Compensation cases in Arkansas for decades, and he can put his experience to work in your case to help you get compensation for on-the-job injuries while working for J.B. Hunt.  For a free case consultation, call us today at (479) 316-0438.

Can You File for Workers’ Compensation While Working at J.B. Hunt in Bentonville?

Workers throughout Arkansas can usually file for Workers’ Compensation if they are injured on the job.  However, your specific employment situation might vary, and your ability to file for Workers’ Compensation could be affected – especially for truck drivers.

Trucking companies like J.B. Hunt work under various models.  Some companies hire drivers as employees, meaning that they pay them with benefits and wages and cover them with Workers’ Compensation insurance.  Every employee in Arkansas, except certain groups, must be covered with workers’ comp. insurance paid by the employer.  However, independent contractors are not covered by this rule.

If you work as an independent contractor in your trucking job or any other job for J.B. Hunt, you might not be covered by their Workers’ Compensation plan.  That means that if you are injured, you cannot file for Workers’ Compensation through them – but it also means that you retain the right to file a lawsuit instead.

Can You Sue J.B. Hunt for Workplace Injuries in Bentonville?

While Workers’ Compensation typically works to cover injuries after an accident at work, it also restricts injury victims from filing a lawsuit.  However, this does not stop employees of companies like J.B. Hunt from filing a lawsuit if they were injured by a third party or were the victim of workplace violence.

Because many J.B. Hunt employees are truckers, many employees run a risk of being injured by some third party.  That can include truck accidents caused by other drivers or truckers.  In those cases, you can usually sue those third parties for the injuries they caused you.  You could also sue an equipment manufacturer for equipment malfunctions and defects, as an example of another responsible third party.

As mentioned, you can also sue your employer for assault and other such intentional injuries.

Proving Workers’ Comp. Claims Against J.B. Hunt

While your right to sue might be restricted, there are benefits to Workers’ Compensation: you do not need to prove fault to get workers’ comp. benefits.  In a lawsuit for injuries, you need to prove who was at fault, which can be difficult to do against an employer.  With Workers’ Compensation, you don’t need to prove that the employer actually shared fault to get the compensation you need.

Instead of proving fault, you do still need to prove that your injuries happened at work.  In some cases, the Workers’ Compensation insurance company will challenge your telling of the story or accuse you of trying to pass off an injury that happened outside of work as a workers’ comp. claim.  Our lawyers can help gather evidence that your injury was indeed work-related and fight to get your injuries covered.

How Much Does J.B. Hunt’s Workers’ Comp. Pay for Injured Truckers and Employees in Bentonville?

Without looking at the specifics of J.B. Hunt’s Workers’ Compensation insurance policy, it is impossible to say specifically what they will cover.  However, most employers in Arkansas are held to strict standards about what they cover.  We can discuss those areas of compensation, including wage-loss coverage and medical coverage.

When you are unable to work after a work injury, Workers’ Compensation should pay 2/3 of your normal wages.  Typically, there is a delay period with these wages, and the first few days after your injury are not covered.  However, if the injury is severe enough and you are out of work for two weeks or more, the workers’ comp. benefits will usually kick in.

2/3 of your wages is the standard coverage rate, but the length of this coverage will depend on your injury.  Certain injuries for lost limbs or lost function are measured in weeks of coverage.  Disabilities and illness will also be covered in many cases as long as the injury happened at work.  Talk to a lawyer about how many weeks of workers’ comp. you should get for your injury.

Medical damages should be paid in full through workers’ comp., but there are certain rules to follow.  If you go to the emergency room after a work-related injury, all of the transportation costs and care costs should be covered by your employer’s workers’ comp.  From there, your employer should also cover any ongoing medical bills.

To get the medical care covered, you will often need to go to an approved doctor that your employer or their worker’s comp. insurance company chose, and you will need to keep up with all appointments and care requirements.

Talk to a lawyer for more details about what benefits your worker’s comp. plan will cover as an injured J.B. Hunt employee.

Call Our J.B. Hunt Workers’ Compensation Lawyer in Bentonville

If you or a loved one worked for J.B. Hunt and was injured at work, Ken Kieklak, Attorney at Law, may be able to help.  Our Bentonville J.B. Hunt Workers’ Compensation lawyer represents injured workers and drivers and fights to get them the compensation they need for medical expenses and lost wages through workers’ comp.  For a free case consultation, call us today at (479) 316-0438.