If you work as an independent contractor, you probably often lose sleep imagining what would happen if you were to suffer an accident at work. You do not want to even consider that possibility and shiver just thinking about having all those expenses come out of your own pocket. You know it would be too much money, funds you cannot afford to spend or they would represent a heavy burden for your family.
When you work for a company and they withhold money out of your paycheck every week or fortnight, you waste no time thinking about these issues. You know you are employed by them, with all the rights and responsibilities that this entails.
But nowadays many companies prefer to hire people as “independent contractors” and this may be your case. You are made to feel as if being an “independent contractor” is very convenient because you can work for many people without any obligation towards any particular employer and they may be right. So they pay you in cash or give you a check and you have absolutely no taxes deducted from your wages. Not only that, but they also don’t sign you up for worker’s compensation.
Fortunately, in many of these cases, even though your employer has hired you as an “independent contractor”, you may actually be able to prove that you are employed by the company.
Things change when it comes to the construction industry. In that case, there is a General Contractor. He is responsible for the work and brings in subcontractors, such as electrical, plumbing, drywall or plaster and paint, among others. These subcontractors bring their people or they also subcontract the person who will bring the workers.
So many people are involved in these projects that it is inevitable that many of them will not have papers and are paid in cash. Whose responsibility is it when there is an accident at work in these cases? Workers can always file a claim against the General Contractor.
It is important to keep in mind that the claim can cover two areas: loss of income and medical benefits.
Medical benefits may range from doctors’ visits to treatments, operations, therapy and rehabilitation.
To be able to collect for loss of income, as in the case of any employee who is not on the payroll and has not paid taxes or submitted a tax return, it will be a little more difficult to check how much or what income we are talking about, but your accident lawyer can help you get the most out of your claim.
Put yourself in the hands of an expert if you have suffered an accident at work. It does not matter if you are an independent contractor. You are entitled to file a claim from the first minute of the first day you’re working there.
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