In every state, employers are required to provide their employees with a reasonably safe and healthy working environment. However, in some cases, an employer may fail to provide this and, as a result, an employee may be injured. Occasionally, an employee might sustain an injury on the job even when all efforts have been made by the employer to make their workplace safe. This could include injuries such as broken bones, occupational illnesses, and aggravations of pre-existing conditions. Read on to find out more about your rights as an employee if you are injured on the job.

What Rights Do Employees Have?

Workers’ compensation laws can vary between states, and the rights and legal procedures can also vary between companies and employees. Generally speaking, in most states, employees will have the right to get medical treatment, the right to go back to their job when signed off as safe to do so by their doctor, and the right to bring a in workers’ compensation claim for the injury. If you are unable to work due to the injury, you have the right to disability compensation, and you will generally have the right to appeal any decision made by your employer that you disagree with. You also have the right to be represented by a Work Injury Lawyer.

How to Protect Your Rights

Reporting a work-related injury to your employer is the easiest and most important way to protect your rights if you are injured on the job. Most states will require that you make a report of your injury within a certain time period, up to a few days after the incident. While this might not always be possible depending on the exact circumstances, it’s important to make sure that the injury is reported as soon as practically possible. The next step to protect your rights involves filing a claim with the worker’s compensation court in your state, giving formal notice of the injury.

Your Rights Against Third Parties

In some cases, a work-related injury may not be the responsibility of your employer, but rather a third party. If your injury was caused by the negligence or carelessness of a third party such as a manufacturer of a defective piece of equipment used in your workplace, you may have the right to bring a claim against that party, known as a third-party claim. These are not usually dealt with by workers’ compensation and should be filed in state or federal courts in the form of a civil lawsuit. A civil lawsuit for any work-related injuries will typically be able to seek additional personal injury damages that cannot be recovered in a workers’ compensation claim. For example, you may bring a civil claim to seek compensation for pain and suffering, since workers’ compensation claim benefits are generally designed to only cover lost wages and medical expenses.

Understanding your rights and how to protect them if you are injured at work can help you navigate what can often be a tricky situation.

Anyone who owns or operates a vehicle knows how important insurance is, and is probably familiar with the requirements that mandate certain amounts of coverage in their particular state. These rules were put into effect to help protect innocent victims from experiencing devastating financial losses should they become affected by a person who does not have proper insurance coverage. While good in theory, insurance laws still have a number of loopholes that people are able to utilize, which results in serious consequences for many people on a yearly basis.

Today, even with strict insurance laws in place, it is estimated that more than sixty million people in the United States are still either underinsured or completely uninsured. While many people are blaming not having adequate coverage, and the minimum amount of coverage required by law on the economy and monetary reasons, the truth is, this issue is one that has been around for years. That being said, the down turn in the economy in recent years has only perpetuated this issue, and has led to higher numbers of motorists taking the gamble of not being caught by dropping their coverage.

An uninsured or underinsured motorist can make things quite difficult should you find yourself in an accident. Whether the accident involves a personal car, truck, or other type of motor vehicle, if you find yourself involved with a person without adequate coverage you are the one left holding the bag for all of your damages, including medical expenses. This is the case even when the accident is not your fault. The result can be extremely expensive and lead to big problems that can be devastating.

One way to help protect yourself is to purchase extra insurance yourself, which is commonly referred to as uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. The laws surrounding this type of coverage do vary a bit from state to state, but essentially it allows you to purchase a particular level of protection from your own insurance company for any damages or medical expenses that may be in excess of the amount that you can recover from the motorist who is uninsured or underinsured.

Should you find yourself in the position of needing to execute this line of coverage, a claim against your own insurance company is filed, using your own policy, for the precise type of damage you would needed to recover. This is done much the same way it would be done if you were to seek compensation from the other motorist’s insurance policy, and covers damages such as property damages, medical bills, and lost wages.

Because insurance companies are notorious for making processes difficult and drawn out, utilizing this coverage is not as easy as you may think. Even if a claim is eventually paid, insurance companies may choose to cancel your policy which can make getting insurance in the future quite difficult. This only adds insult to injury should the accident not be your fault in the first place. In any case that damage has been done because of an accident, especially one that involves an uninsured or underinsured motorist and will require the use of your own insurance policy; it is wise to consult with an experienced personal injury attorney. He or she is quite skilled with dealing with insurance companies and can walk you through every step of the process.

If you decide to take the risk yourself and not purchase uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage on your personal policy, you are taking a gamble that can be truly devastating should you have an accident. Many people believe they can waive this option as long as they drive in a very cautious manner. They believe that saving this small amount yearly on their personal policy is more important than the extra level of protection this coverage provides. Unfortunately, even if you drive more carefully and do everything right on your end, you still cannot control outside forces and you cannot protect yourself from reckless or negligent driving by others that are on the roads with you on a daily basis.

If you or someone you know has been injured in any type of accident that involves an underinsured or uninsured motorist, you should not delay in contacting a personal injury attorney. The laws surrounding these types of cases do vary somewhat from state to state, and some states do not allow these claims to be settled in a court of law. Instead, they are to be dealt with through mandatory arbitration and must be settled based upon policy provisions. Since there are also statutes of limitations that are enforced, as well as precise filing guidelines, it is never wise to try to handle these cases on your own.

A personal injury attorney who specializes in the area of uninsured and underinsured motorists can help you to find the best possible means of recovery, and can handle your claim on your behalf so that you will receive the best possible payout. These cases are often handled separately from the actual accident claim, and vary from standard accident cases. It is not uncommon for multiple petitions to be filed, one for insurance, one for injuries, and one for property damages. It may also require civil litigation and/or criminal litigation depending on the precise circumstances involved.

Personal injury attorneys often work on a contingency basis, which means that you do not have to pay anything upfront to get your claim started. This will allow you to focus on the details of your case, as well as your personal recovery without the added worry of how to pay your legal bills. This can go a long way toward making the process flow smoothly on all sides.

Insurance companies have teams of attorneys working hard on their side to protect their interests and to pay out as little as possible. Do not take the chance of becoming a victim twice. A personal injury attorney will work hard for you in order to protect your future, and get you the compensation you truly deserve.

We all regret the number of lives lost each and every year due to injuries sustained in car crashes. They are certainly tragic, irrespective of the reasons behind them. It is important to note that it is estimated that 83% of the deaths occurring annually may be prevented by the proper use of seat belts and airbags. If you’re considering obtaining either lawsuit loans or settlement loans, it is important to clearly identify whether you were utilizing such a restraint at the time of the crash.

Every time we get behind the wheel of an automobile, we risk injuring others, as well as ourselves. It is very important that we utilize due-diligence when we are on the road. With the increased number of vehicles occupying the roadway, as well as an increasing number of elderly individuals driving on those roadways, the need to be observant when we are driving has never been more crucial.

Unfortunately, many times we get behind the wheel of a car and take very little thought of the possibility of an injury occurring. Fortunately, in the vast majority of cases, were able to to travel to and from our destination without incident. This may result in a lackadaisical approach to understanding the importance of utilizing your seatbelts and the importance of having an airbag that is functional in your vehicle.

Why would it be important to notify individuals whether you actually utilize your seatbelt in a car crash that occurred if you’re applying for either a lawsuit loan or a settlement loan? There are numerous reasons this would be important to take into consideration. However, one of the most important reasons will be the extent to which you exercised due-diligence when you’re on the roadway and the degree to which you attempted to mitigate damages sustained. This will also be an important factor with respect to other occupants of that vehicle involved in the crash. This is particularly true with all minors.

It is also important for you to notify your physician about whether you were wearing any type of a restraint at the time of the incident. There is a lot of information that a competent physician is able to glean from knowing whether such a restraint was used. For example, injuries sustained in a car crash by those who do not wear a seatbelt are often much more severe than those who do wear a seatbelt. Furthermore, individuals who wear a shoulder harness are much less likely to sustain some the shearing forces that will affect those individuals who merely employ a seat restraint. Although, airbags can be extremely helpful even in those instances in which only a seat restraint is used.

Always be truthful with those individuals who will be representing you in your lawsuit. This is true regarding your physician, your attorney, and those from whom you seek either a lawsuit loan or a settlement loan. Remember, lawsuit loans and settlement loans are non-recourse. Such funding will be reviewed very carefully. Any attempts to misrepresent the circumstances surrounding the car crash are likely to result in a denial of any request for litigation funding.

Background: using cell phones while driving is an inherently unsafe: Everyone knows now that it is unsafe to drink and drive, but the effects of cell phone use while driving are perhaps even more devastating, because the use of cell phones while driving is so wide-spread. According to the a National Safety Council fact sheet, drivers using cell phones account for nearly 25 percent of all motor vehicle crashes annually. In fact, research has shown that driving while using a cell phone is comparable to the devastating effects that alcohol causes to the motoring public. See, A Comparison of the Cell Phone Driver and the Drunk Driver, Human Factors, Vol. 48, No. 2, Summer 2006, pp. 381-391. Sadly, 81 percent of driver have admitted to using a cell phone while driving, according to the National Safety Council fact sheet.

In bringing your motions to compel cell phone records, it is important to bring the above-referenced documents to the attention of the judge hearing your motion. It is also crucial to let juries know of these dangers, because it will affect how the jury views the defendant’s conduct, even in cases where the defense admits to liability in a rear-end collision. It is not enough to stipulate to liability and let the defendant escape accountability to the jury for the despicable nature of using a cell phone while driving. If our firm finds out that the defendant was using a cell phone, we will attach a punitive damages cause of action to the complaint, alleging that doing so was despicable conduct within the meaning of Civil Code section 3294. If you have clear facts showing that there was cell phone usage, by all means, include a punitive damages allegation with the original complaint, so that you are not forced to make a motion to amend your complaint to allege punitive damages.

Don’t get timed out: It is important to recognize the key defense that the defendants possess and neutralize that defense immediately: timing. It can often take 6 months or more to get cell phone records from the time that you first notice the deposition duces tecum until you have the records in your hands. In most aspects of a personal injury case, the defense will try to stall and delay the case until it is time for trial, and discovery has closed, leaving the plaintiff with holes in her case. That is particularly true with cell phone records. The defendant will claim to have forgotten his cell phone number and the name of his cell phone carrier. He will claim to have lost his cell phone records. The cell phone carrier will throw up road blocks, too. In most cases, the judge won’t let you get the cell phone records from the carrier until you have demonstrated due diligence in getting the records from the defendant himself.

As you will see in this article and the associated subsequent articles, there is a long process for seeking these documents through written depositions, written discovery, meet-and-confer letters, amended responses by the defense, followed by more meet-and-confer letters, and ultimately, your motion to compel. If you don’t lay the foundation, or move too quickly, the discovery judge will deny your motion to compel. So be sure to build into your discovery plan ample time to go through the whole process. Compelling cell phone records is like baking a layer cake; you have to build it one layer at a time.

Also, keep in mind that if you want to amend your complaint to allege punitive damages, California Rules of Court, Rule 3.1324, will require you to demonstrate good cause why your motion was not brought earlier. Don’t hand the defense an easy escape due to lack of diligence in bringing the motion to amend the complaint to allege punitive damages pursuant to Civil Code section 3294.

Start your hunt right away: Look for indications of cell phone usage on the part of the defense very early on in the case. Start with the intake with your client. Include a question about cell phone usage on the part of both your client and the defense in your intake questionnaire.

If your client knows that the defendant was using their cell phone, your client will usually tell you, because by now most people are aware that using a cell phone while driving is despicable conduct, particularly if the defendant was not using the phone in a hands-free way. If you client does not mention cell phone usage, be sure to ask your client about cell phone usage in the same way that you would screen for drunk driving, because, as mentioned above, cell phones are the new drunk driving and can change the entire course of the litigation, as we will see. Insurers are willing to waive liability and settle early where their insureds were using their cell phones at the time of the collision in the same way that they do with drunk driving cases.

Sometimes clients will have seen the defendant on their cell phone a few minutes before the incident happened, for example, if they were passing the defendant and were later rear-ended by the defendant, so probe your client’s memory as to the first time that they saw the defendant, and think about if they saw any signs of the defendant using the cell phone.

After speaking with your client, think about other sources of information about the collision. Look at the police report, of course, to see if the reporting officer noted cell phone use. Contact all of the witnesses listed in the report to see if they noticed the defendant using a cell phone. Be sure to ask your clients and the witnesses if they saw the defendant appearing to speak to himself, because even hands-free driving is distracted driving, and the above-cited studies show that a driver’s response time is reduced even with hands-free usage. As if they saw the defendant gesturing while driving, because of course many people will gesture with their hands while on the phone.

Even if your client and the witnesses are unable to state that they saw direct evidence of cell phone usage, such as the defendant holding a cell phone to his ear or talking to no one while driving alone, it is possible to infer cell phone usage where the defendant has no logical story to explain their odd driving behavior. For example, if your client sees the vehicle coming up on them from behind and failing to slow down, your client might not have time to focus their gaze on the driver before impact, but the fact that the driver doesn’t slow down is a flag indicating that the driver was distracted. Weaving is of course another example of distracted driving, as is odd variations in speed. You will need all of these facts to persuade a discovery judge that there are some indicia of distracted driving before the judge will let you compel the defendant’s cell phone records.

File suit early: If you see flags indicated distracted driving, file suit immediately. You will need to begin the process of investigation through formal discovery immediately, because insurers are going to fight this discovery battle tooth and nail, as they are aware that the public is disgusted with distracted driving, and that distracted driving will open up their insured’s personal assets, creating a conflict. Of course, it is exactly this kind of conflict that you want to create for the purpose of leveraging a decent settlement for your client.

If you see flags indicating distracted driving, consider serving a deposition notice on the defendant 20 days after service is effected on them, pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure section 2025.210(b) which provides in pertinent part as follows:

2025.210(b) The plaintiff may serve a deposition notice without leave of court on any date that is 20 days after the service of the summons on, or appearance by, any defendant. On motion with or without notice, the court, for good cause shown, may grant to a plaintiff leave to serve a deposition notice on an earlier date.

The prevailing wisdom is that you should serve form interrogatories by mail after receiving the defendant’s answer, but it is exactly that kind of supposed “common sense” that you want to avoid in these cases. You want to send the defense a signal that you are different, and they should not expect “the usual” from you in any aspect of this case. It also sends the defense a signal that you are not going to permit them to enjoy their primary defense tactic, that of stall and delay. This practice also gives you access to the defendant before the defense adjuster and defense attorney have had extra time to help the defendant formulate false testimony. In their haste to prepare an answer, the defense might not have time to screen the defendant for cell phone usage, and so the defendant might be unwary of the need to prevaricate about his cell phone usage.

After serving the complaint and summons, fax and mail the defense adjuster to let them know that service has been effected, and let them know that you expect a timely answer to the complaint. Then serve the deposition notice, and again fax and mail the defense with a letter saying that you expect the defendant to appear on the date noticed for the deposition. Make sure that you give yourself enough time to actually get the deposition notice served. Code of Civil Procedure section 2025.270(a) requires 10 days’ notice.

The defense attorney will likely phone you to say that there is a conflict in their schedule, but you should politely and persistently insist on an early deposition for the defendant. When the defense attorney asks what the rush is all about, tell them that it is the plaintiff’s job to move the ball, and that the defense should expect to see this pace continued all throughout the case. Do not, of course, talk about your interest in getting discovery of cell phone usage at this point. The defense will not understand why you are pushing the case so quickly, and it will make them start to question their assumptions about what is “normal” in a case, including their “usual” evaluation of the ultimate case value.

The purloined letter, hidden in plain view: You are going to want to include a duces tecum demand with your deposition notice. In that duces tecum demand, you are going to want to ask for cell phone records. Be sure to bury the request for the cell phone records in the middle of the demand somewhere, well after the usual request for photographs and statements of the plaintiff and witnesses, etc, unless you have alleged punitive damages in your complaint, in which case the cell phone usage will be front and center. Be sure to serve along with the deposition subpoena set of form interrogatories, a standard request for production of documents, a set of specially-prepared interrogatories, if that is needed in your case, and a request for admissions. All of these documents can be served any time that is 10 days after service of the summons on the defendant. See C.C.P. sections 2030.020, 2031.020, and 2033.020, respectively.

It is important to serve a standard set of requests for admissions, along with the deposition notice and the other documents. The requests for admissions should certainly ask the defendant to admit the facts of liability from your client’s perspective, and should ask them to admit the ultimate fact that the defendant is at fault for causing the collision. This is particularly true if the case is a rear-ender, because the defense attorney will oppose the motion to compel cell phone records on the basis of that the cell phones are not relevant in a rear-end collision. When the defendant denies liability in the request for admissions, as they inevitably will, you now have ammunition to show the discovery judge that liability is disputed, and therefore the cell phone records will go to the issue of fault.

Be thorough in deposing the defendant on how the collision happened: If you have spotted one of the flags of distracted driving, typically the defendant will not admit cell phone use. You will need to first lay the foundation for the erratic driving. Be sure to begin the deposition with a benign tone toward the deponent. Don’t clue them into the fact that you are going to press them later in the deposition, because they will become defensive, and they won’t give you the key facts that lay the foundation for the flags of distracted driving.

The defendant will typically admit that they rear-ended your client, if that is the case, but they will gloss over the facts leading up to the impact. You will definitely want to ask them when it was that they noticed that your client was stopped, and what they did to avoid the collision. You can ask them lead-in questions such as “it sounds like you were a bit distracted” or “it sounds like your attention drifted off of the road for a little bit.” Then, ask them if their windows in the car were rolled up or rolled down. Ask them if their radio was playing. Ask them if they had some trouble keeping their vehicle in their lane.

Then ask them if they were using their cell phone at the time of the collision. If they say no, ask them when the last time was that they used their cell phone before the collision. Ask them where they kept their cell phone. Was it attached to their belt? Was it in a purse or brief case? If there were other occupants in the defendants’ vehicle, be sure to set their depositions for a time immediately following the defendant’s deposition, so that the defendant will be clued into the fact that his fabrications might be contradicted by other sworn testimony.

Sample duces tecum demand in commercial driving cases: You can count on the defendant to be evasive in deposition. It is not uncommon for the defendant to say that they don’t remember their cell phone number or the name of their cell phone carrier! If that is the case, you will need to make sure that you have requested collision reports and bills of lading applicable to the shipment that the defendant was carrying, in case the driver’s cell phone number is there. Here is some language that would cover those items:

All written collision reports prepared by defendant Donald T. Driver pertaining to the subject collision.

All drivers’ time sheets, log books (regardless of form) involved in recording the subject tractor truck’s usage and mileage by all drivers in the 72 hours prior to the subject collision.

Don’t assume that the defense attorney will object to the collision report prepared by the driver. It might be that the defense attorney will need to use the collision report to refresh the recollection of the driver, and so might give up the collision report, rather than argue that it was an attorney-client communication prepared by the driver for the insurance adjuster to prepare for litigation.

Sample language for special interrogatories seeking the defendants’ cell phone info: If the defendant claims in deposition to have forgotten their cell phone number or the name of their carrier, you will need to serve specially-prepared interrogatories to elicit that information. Here are some sample questions:

State the name of all mobile telephone carriers used by defendant Donald T. Driver on the date of the subject incident which is the subject of this lawsuit.

State the name of any mobile telephone carrier with whom defendant Donald T. Driver had a contract for mobile telephone service on the date of the subject which is the subject of this lawsuit.

State the mobile telephone number(s) of any mobile telephone(s) for which defendant Donald T. Driver had active service on the date of the subject incident.

State the name of the mobile telephone carrier providing service for each of the mobile telephone numbers for which defendant Donald T. Driver had active service on the date of the subject incident.

State the mobile telephone number(s) of any active mobile telephone(s) provided to defendant Donald T. Driver by his employer on the date of the subject incident.

State the name of the mobile telephone carrier providing service for each of the mobile telephone numbers provided to defendant Donald T. Driver by his employer on the date of the subject incident.

Was defendant Donald T. Driver using a mobile telephone for driving directions at the time of the subject collision?

Was defendant Donald T. Driver using a mobile telephone for voice communications at the time of the subject collision?

Was defendant Donald T. Driver using a mobile telephone for text communications at the time of the subject collision?

Was defendant Donald T. Driver using a mobile telephone for any purpose at the time of the subject collision?

When was the last time before the subject collision that defendant Donald T. Driver used a mobile telephone for any purpose?

IDENTIFY the last person that defendant Donald T. Driver spoke with by mobile telephone preceding the subject collision?

As used in these interrogatories, “IDENTIFY” means to provide the name, address, and a telephone number of the person to be identified.

Sample language requesting cell phone records: Below is an example of language that you can use in requesting cell phone records. Be sure to include questions that are both narrowly directed to the time of the collision, as well as questions that are broader, so that the defense won’t say that they don’t have records which are precisely that exact. Bear in mind that the defendant will typically say that they are not in the possession, custody, and control of the requested records. Your primary purpose in requesting these records is to demonstrate to the discovery judge that it will be necessary to compel the defendant to sign a release of records, because the defendant will, by that time, have answered these questions saying that they don’t have possession of the records. In most cases, the only custodian of the records will be the carriers, but you have to set up the defendant by asking these questions first.

Produce all contracts for the delivery of mobile telephony service entered into between defendant Donald T. Driver and any mobile telephony carrier which was in effect at the time of the subject collision.

Produce all contracts for the delivery of mobile telephony service entered into between defendant Donald T. Driver’s employer and any mobile telephony carrier which provided service for defendant Donald T. Driver’s use in effect at the time of the subject collision.

Produce any and all billing statements in the possession, custody or control of the responding defendants for mobile telephony service used by defendant Donald T. Driver for mobile telephony service which was in effect for the billing period which covered the date of service for May 1, 2008 [insert the date of your subject collision].

Produce any and all billing statements covering the period of 10:00 a.m. through 2:00 p.m. on the day of the subject collision for mobile telephony service used by defendant Donald T. Driver.

You are going to have to customize the language above to fit your case. If the collision happened at 12:00 noon, for example, you will want to go back to 10:00 a.m. and forward to 2:00 p.m. to make sure that you get the data for the subject call, in case the parties or the reporting police officer got the time of the collision a bit off.

Conclusion: It may be a long haul to get cell phone records in car accident litigation, start now: You can count on both the defendant and the defense attorney to fight tooth and nail to prevent you from getting your hands on the requested cell phone records. Start your hunt early, or you will find that you are right up against the discovery cut-off without your records, or without adequate time to amend your complaint to allege punitive damages.