Car accident when on the clock

[Rusty Shackleford]

Didn't want to threadjack the RIP thread for the photographer killed on the sports/news thread, but what happens if you are involved in a car accident while on the clock? Does your own personal insurance deal with it, or is there some kind of company insurance you deal with (assuming no injuries)? Or what if there are injuries -- whose insurance pays for that stuff?

I'm just curious -- I've never (thankfully) had to deal with anything of the sort, knock on wood.

 

[EStreetJoe]

You just go through your own insurance.
Unless you're driving a company car while on company time.

 

[beanpole]

Companies handle these things differently, but if you're not in a company car, it's likely that you'll be working through your own insurance company.

You can file for workers comp if you are injured on the job, and you'll be asked to fill out some paperwork as soon as you tell your bosses about the accident.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Unfortunately, I've had this happen to me twice. Once I was a passenger in another writer's car at Spring training and the other time I was driving to an event. Workman's comp should be filed. If you have any questions about it, PM me...

 

[luckyducky]

Companies handle these things differently, but if you're not in a company car, it's likely that you'll be working through your own insurance company.

You can file for workers comp if you are injured on the job, and you'll be asked to fill out some paperwork as soon as you tell your bosses about the accident.

Yup. Happened to me a couple years ago (actually, two years ago last weekend). I was in my car, so I dealt with my insurance (and that of the lady who hit me), but had to go to the ER (late on a Friday night) and take a **** test, even though the accident wasn't my fault (McClatchy company policy, fyi), but since I was on my way back to the office after covering an event, technically still working... Also had to get checked out by a doctor to make sure I was OK per the Dept. of L&I since the company reported it.

That was the least of my hassles though, since the lady who hit me had USAA and it took three weeks to even get in touch with her insurance agent, before I could even give insurance a statement and get my car fixed (a month after the accident).

 

[old_tony]

More than 20 years ago, I learned that in order to get to file for mileage at my paper you had to have proof that you had liability insurance up to a certain level (which was higher than I was carrying at the time).

This subject also piques my interest in that I wonder if companies shouldn't be on the hook for your deductible if you get into an accident while driving your own car for the company. In my case, I recently got a crack in my windshield while driving for the company and have a $250 deductible for a windshield replacement.

 

[Fenian_Bastard]

More than 20 years ago, I learned that in order to get to file for mileage at my paper you had to have proof that you had liability insurance up to a certain level (which was higher than I was carrying at the time).

This subject also piques my interest in that I wonder if companies shouldn't be on the hook for your deductible if you get into an accident while driving your own car for the company. In my case, I recently got a crack in my windshield while driving for the company and have a $250 deductible for a windshield replacement.

Should they be? Absolutely.
Are they? Hey, this is the newspaper industry, Tone. What do you think?

 

[Shoeless Joe]

One of our photogs had it happen this summer... he was on the clock going somewhere he was assigned and required to drive his personal vehicle... paper basically said "that's the breaks."

The guy who hit him was charged, and as far as I know his insurance paid up. But our guy was out the expense of having to replace a paid for car with new car payments. The paper didn't even give him a kiss. They did ask if he was OK to cover an assignment later that evening.

 

[beardpuller]

Happened to me in August. I asked about the company covering the deductible, got a nicely-phrased "no way in hell" e-mail.