Unlike some states, Michigan’s workers’ compensation laws also allow you to collect workers’ compensation from your employer and then file a lawsuit against a third party (such as a subcontractor) for the same injuries. However, if you do get compensation from that third party, you must pay back your workers’ compensation, if your employer pays their share of lawyers’ fees and costs of the lawsuit.

The only time you can sue your employer after collecting workers’ compensation is if your employer treats you unfairly or retaliates against you for making your workers’ compensation claim.

There are also some exceptions that allow you to sue your employer instead of receiving workers’ compensation.

You can sue your employer for not having workers’ compensation when required to by law.

You can sue your employer for an intentional tort. That is, when your employer takes an action that could reasonably be expected to result in an injury to you.

You can also sue your employer for violations related to Civil Rights violations or violations related to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that may or may not be associated with your workplace injury.

To learn more about your legal rights and options, please contact Jay Trucks & Associates today to talk to our workers’ compensation lawyers.

You have the right to a discrimination-free workplace. Discrimination can be based on race, age, gender, disability, religion, sexual orientation, and many other factors.

You have the right to fair wages at or above the minimum wage in Michigan, as well as compensation for overtime worked.

You have the right to a safe workplace. Under the Michigan Occupational Safety & Health Act (MIOSHA), you are guaranteed a workplace free of all recognized hazards that can cause death or serious physical harm. If your employer is requesting variation from any MIOSHA standard, you have the right to be notified and to speak at a hearing on the request.

You have the right to workers’ compensation for injuries sustained in the workplace during the normal course of your employment.

You also have the right to be free from retaliation due to any workers’ compensation claim, discrimination complaint, wage dispute, or reporting of MIOSHA violations.

If you feel your rights as a worker have been violated, employment law attorneys can often help you get compensation. To learn more about your legal rights and options in Michigan, please contact Jay Trucks & Associates, helping workers in the Saginaw area.

Be insured: In Michigan, employers are required to have workers’ compensation insurance if they regularly employ three or more workers at a time or if they employed at least one worker for 35 hours or more per week for 13 weeks or longer.

Respect doctor’s recommendations: If your workplace injury results in you being unfit for your regular job duties, an employer should offer you light duties if these are available. Light duties really mean light duties, not your old job or similar job disguised as light duties. Your employer must also respect the doctor’s recommendations on limited working hours and restricted activities and cannot ask you to violate those recommendations.

Treat injured employees fairly: Workers’ compensation law protects you from any type of retaliation related to your claim. This includes passing you over for raises, tenure, or promotion on the basis of your claim or otherwise treating you unfairly because you made a workers’ compensation claim.

If your employer is not complying with their workers’ compensation responsibilities, you may be able to receive additional compensation with the help of a workers’ compensation lawyer.

To learn more about your legal rights and options, please contact Jay Trucks & Associates today for a free initial consultation.

The goal of workers’ compensation is to ensure that every person injured on the job will be taken care of without having to fight their way through the courts. In exchange for this security, employees generally give up the right to sue employers for punitive damages and other compensation, although some states, including Michigan, allow employees to sue an employer if the employer deliberately took an action intended to injure a worker.

Workers’ compensation benefits generally include all medical care related to the workplace injury, some fraction of the worker’s pre-accident salary, and a guarantee of light duty if such work is available. A worker is limited, however, in the doctors he or she can see, and must take light duty as offered.

If you have additional questions about workers compensation, our attorneys can answer them. Please contact Jay Trucks & Associates, helping Michigan workers with workers’ compensation, discrimination, and other employment law questions.

In both personal injury and workers’ compensation cases, a major question in terms of the amount of compensation you receive is how much you can work after your injury. Obviously, if you suffer a permanent disability that makes you ineligible for your current job and many other similar high-paying jobs, your lifetime earning capacity will be significantly diminished.

The ADA can dramatically impact your employment status after you suffer an injury because it guarantees that you cannot be discriminated against based on your disability if you are still able to perform the primary duties of your job with reasonable accommodations, such as:

• Increased workplace accessibility
• Specialized equipment
• Modified work schedule or restructured duties
• Interpreters or readers

This is different from the “light duty” requirement of workers’ compensation–it affects all disabled employees regardless of the source of their injuries. The good news is that it means you may be able to get back to work after your injury, but it may significantly reduce the amount of your award.

An experienced ADA lawyer can understand these issues so you get an appropriate award for your injury. To learn more about your rights and options after an accident in Michigan, please contact Jay Trucks & Associates today for a free initial consultation.

• Failure to hire despite qualifications
• Firing due to disability
• Limiting advancement due to disability
• Giving lower compensation
• Failure to make proper accommodations during training or employment

The ADA applies to federal, state, and local government agencies as well as any employer with at least 15 employees. Labor organizations are also required to abide by ADA guidelines.

You are considered disabled under the terms of the ADA if you have a physical or mental impairment that affects your ability to perform one or more major life activities. Obviously, you can be disabled and still be a qualified employee if you can perform the essential duties of your job with or without reasonable accommodation.

Reasonable accommodation is any modification of a business’ practices or facilities that do not cause “undue hardship” such as significant costs or reducing performance demands. Reasonable accommodation includes:

• Increasing accessibility of facilities
• Modifying work schedules or restructuring job
• Obtaining specialized equipment that is comparable in cost
• Providing qualified interpreters or readers

If your employer fails to make reasonable accommodations or treats you unfairly, you may be able to receive compensation for these acts. ADA attorneys are employment law attorneys with experience helping disabled people get fair workplace treatment.

The ADA attorneys at Jay Trucks & Associates have helped many people across the state of Michigan to get compensation for violation of their ADA rights. Please contact Jay Trucks & Associates today for a free initial consultation.

Next, you should seek medical attention for dog bite victims. Whether you need to go to the emergency room or not depends on the extent of your injuries, but you should seek treatment quickly to reduce your risk of infection.

Contact animal control about the presence of a dangerous dog. Tell them everything you know about the identity of the dog. If you do not know the identity of a dangerous dog, you or someone else can take reasonable steps to determine its home or identity. Do not pursue or attempt to apprehend the dog, since this may lead to additional risk of injury. Animal control personnel are the only ones who should be confronting or attempting to capture a dangerous dog.

If you have suffered serious injury resulting in medical bills, lost wages, disfigurement, or disability, you should contact a lawyer about the dog bite so you can get compensation to cover your costs. In Michigan, dog owners are always considered responsible for injuries their dogs cause. You do not have to show that the dog owner was negligent in order to get compensation.

For more information about your legal rights and options after a dog bite in Michigan, please contact Jay Trucks & Associates today for a free initial consultation.

Construction contractors may be to blame if the construction zone is poorly designed. This may be because it contains insufficient warning, a poorly designed merge zone, unmarked drop-offs, or dangerous changes in grade or road quality. Specific guidelines exist for properly designing construction zones to maximize traffic flow and minimize the risk of accidents.

Other drivers may be to blame in car accidents caused by distracted or aggressive driving. Most accidents are caused by these types of driver-related factors, and the risk increases in construction zones.

Truck drivers and trucking companies can be held responsible for truck accidents caused in construction zones by trucks carelessly merging or entering traffic. As much as 25% of all construction zone accident fatalities involve large trucks.

If you have suffered serious injury or lost a loved one in a construction zone accident due to another person’s negligence, your family should not have to bear the cost alone. A Michigan accident attorney can help you get compensation to cover medical bills, lost wages, and funeral expenses if necessary.

For more information about your legal rights and options in Michigan, please contact Jay Trucks & Associates today for a free consultation.

The most common cause of car accidents is driver inattention. Depending on the study, it appears that 37% of all crashes are directly attributable to driver inattention. In the 100-car naturalistic driving study conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), driver inattention was shown to contribute to 80% of all crashes and near-crashes, although it was not necessarily the sole or primary cause. Causes of inattention in the NHTSA study included:

• Cell phones and other wireless devices
• Passenger distraction
• Internal distraction
• Vehicle-related distraction
• Personal hygiene tasks
• Eating and drinking while driving
• Distractions outside the car
• Talking or singing to oneself

The first two categories accounted for more crashes and near-crashes than all the others combined.

In other words, the number one thing we can do to prevent car accidents is to keep our attention on the road by putting our cell phones away and not letting passengers distract us. Unfortunately, although Michigan has banned texting and driving, it still allows cell phone use while driving.

If you have been hurt in a car accident caused by a distracted driver, you may be able to get compensation for your injury. For a free consultation on your legal rights and options in the Saginaw area, please contact Jay Trucks & Associates today.

Speeding impacts the likelihood of car accidents in three ways:

• It increases the distance your vehicle travels during the reaction period for a road hazard
• It increases the distance needed to stop a vehicle once you apply the brakes
• It increases crash energy exponentially. Increasing impact speed from 40 to 60 mph is only a 50% increase in speed, but it’s a 125% increase in crash energy.

Vehicles are designed to withstand the tremendous forces involved in car accidents, but when you speed you are increasing these forces even more, often overwhelming the vehicle’s safety features.

Speeding is especially dangerous for distracted drivers. A texting driver, for example, will take their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds. At 30 mph, a texting driver will travel 202 feet during that time, but at 55 mph, a texting driver will travel 371 feet, more than the length of a football field.

Because of the inherent dangers involved, speeding drivers are more often considered responsible for car accidents and injuries suffered as a result. If you have been hurt by a speeding driver, you may be able to receive compensation for your injuries.

For a free consultation on your legal rights and options in the Saginaw area, please contact Jay Trucks & Associates today.