Struck by a truck while working on foot at the roadside

Q: Can a worker hit by a third party's vehicle claim twice?

There are two separate claims — workers' compensation against the employer's insurer, and negligence against the third party — but they are connected. Where compensation has been paid, O.C.G.A. § 34-9-11.1 gives the employer or insurer a claim against the third-party recovery.

Q: What is the one-year point in Georgia's workers' compensation lien statute?

O.C.G.A. § 34-9-11.1(c) provides that if the employee does not bring the third-party action within one year of the date of injury, the employer or its insurer may assert it instead, either in its own name or the employee's.

Q: Does a claim depend on how serious the injury is?

Coverage does not depend on severity, but value does. A near miss with little injury is covered in principle while being worth correspondingly little in practice.

Question

I was on foot doing my job at the side of the road, not in the carriageway, when a dump truck hit me. I am not seriously hurt, but it could have been much worse.

A. Jason Velez · Accepted Answer

Being hit at work by someone else's vehicle opens two claims, and one of them has a one-year deadline most people never hear about. O.C.G.A. § 34-9-1(4) defines what the system covers: “Injury” or “personal injury” means only injury by accident arising out of and in the course of the employment… Both halves have to be true. In the course of is about time and place — at work, doing the job. Arising out of is about cause — the work created the risk. Most workplace injuries satisfy both without argument. Being on foot at the roadside doing the job satisfies both halves, so the compensation claim does not depend on who was at fault. O.C.G.A. § 34-9-11(a) also makes that route exclusive as against the employer. The driver of the truck is a different matter. A third party who is not your employer has no such protection, and an ordinary negligence claim against that driver and their employer can run alongside the compensation claim. The two are tied together by a lien with its own clock. Under O.C.G.A. § 34-9-11.1(c), if the employee has not brought the third-party action within one year of the date of injury, the employer or its insurer may assert that claim instead. Anything the employer recovers above its lien is paid over to the employee, but the choice of when and how to bring the claim passes out of the worker's hands. On the injuries: not feeling seriously hurt on the day is common and is not the end of the question. It is also not a reason to expect a substantial recovery — what a claim is worth follows the injury, not the near miss. ## What you can do 1. Report it to your employer in writing and make sure a compensation claim is filed. 2. Get the crash report and the truck's company name and USDOT number from it. 3. Be examined promptly and describe every symptom, including ones that seem minor. 4. Photograph where you were standing and where the truck passed. 5. Speak to a Georgia attorney well inside one year of the injury, because of § 34-9-11.1(c). ⏱ Time limits apply. O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33 requires actions for injuries to the person to be brought within two years after the right of action accrues. Waiting also costs evidence — footage is overwritten and memories fade — so the practical deadline is usually much earlier than the legal one. A Georgia attorney can tell you quickly how the facts here line up, and most will look at a matter like this at no cost.

Struck by a truck while working on foot at the roadside

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