Knoxville Sanitation Worker Injuries Lawyers

Experienced advocacy when Tennessee sanitation workers are hurt doing their jobs

Sanitation workers in Knoxville help keep residences, businesses, and communities safe from diseases, odors, and the clutter of garbage. Whether a sanitation worker is hired by the government or a private business, they have the right to workers’ compensation benefits if they are injured while working in the scope of their employment, without regard to fault or negligence. At Banks & Jones, our Knoxville sanitation worker injury lawyers have 30 years of experience helping workers obtain their full workers’ compensation benefits, including medical care, temporary disability benefits, and permanent disability benefits.

How can we help?

How do your Knoxville workers’ compensation lawyers fight for injured sanitation workers?

At Banks & Jones, our Knoxville workers’ compensation lawyers are ready for every argument insurance companies use to try to contest your claim. We’re also ready to help you obtain the full compensation you deserve. We work to:

  • File your workers’ compensation claim at the right time
  • Challenge any effort to say you were negligent – fault is not an issue in workers’ compensation cases
  • Work with your doctors to verify your injuries, your prognosis, your medical expenses, and the healthcare treatments you need
  • Counter any employer arguments that you had a pre-existing condition, that you can return to work with or without restrictions, or that you’re not meeting with your doctors and therapists
  • Confirm that your permanent disability prevents you from working and that your impairment rating is high
  • Negotiate lump sum settlements

What types of injuries do sanitation workers suffer in Knoxville?

Sanitation workers can be injured while their vehicles are being driven or stopped to pick up trash. Workers can also be hurt while they’re lifting, pushing, moving, or carrying the trash and garbage containers and bags. They can also be hurt while they clean, use, maintain, or repair any equipment.

At Banks & Jones, our Knoxville sanitation worker injury lawyers, handle all types of injuries that sanitation workers may suffer including:

  • Broken bones/fractures
  • Traumatic amputations/loss of limb
  • Electrical accident injuries
  • Traffic accident injuries
  • Compacting accident injuries
  • Cuts, lacerations, and bruises
  • Spinal cord damage
  • Back injuries
  • Neck and shoulder injuries
  • Nerve, ligament, muscle, tissue, and tendon damage
  • Slip and fall injuries
  • Exposure to dangerous toxins
  • Repetitive stress injuries, such as carpal tunnel syndrome
  • Overexertion injuries

According to the Solid Waste Association of North America, 46 sanitation workers in the US and Canada died in 2022 due to falling from a truck, being struck by a truck, and truck rollovers.

Employers can help protect sanitation workers by ensuring that they have the proper equipment, are properly trained on how to use strong chemical cleaners, and that their trucks have the latest technology to avoid blind spots and help trucks back up and turn properly.

What types of occupational illness claims can sanitation workers file in Knoxville?

Our Knoxville workers’ compensation lawyers also help workers obtain full benefits if they develop an occupational illness due to their jobs. These illnesses include:

  • Respiratory diseases
  • Musculoskeletal disorders
  • Gastrointestinal disorders
  • Mental health/social disorders

What medical benefits can sanitation workers claim if they’re injured or become ill?

If you’re injured while working as a sanitation worker on the road, a building, or any other place such as public parks, you have the right to have all your reasonable medical bills paid if your injuries are due to your job and you’re an employee. These bills must be paid while you’re trying to improve your health and while you’re trying to keep your condition from worsening. Many workers need medical care for the rest of their lives.

Your medical bills may include ER care, hospital stays, burn center care, doctor visits, prosthetics, medications, physical therapy, and all rehabilitative therapy.

What temporary and permanent disability benefits can Knoxville sanitation workers receive?

The benefits for each type of benefit are as follows:

  • Temporary disability benefits. These benefits cover your reasonable and necessary medical bills and two-thirds of your lost wages (subject to any caps). Sanitation employees can file claims for these benefits until their medical treatments are no longer improving their health.
  • Permanent disability benefits. Once your medical condition stabilizes, you’ll be evaluated to determine whether your injuries prevent you from working. You’ll also be assigned an impairment rating based on the severity of your injuries.

Our injury lawyers will help process your claim for permanent disability payments.

How does Tennessee handle death benefits, vocational benefits, and partial disability benefits?

At Banks & Jones, our Knoxville sanitation injury lawyers fight for all the benefits you deserve. In some cases, your or your family’s benefits may be increased or adjusted as follows:

  • Death benefits. In Tennessee, if your loved one died while working as a sanitation worker, spouse and dependents are entitled to payment of the funeral and burial costs up to $10,000 and a percentage of the average weekly wages of your loved one.
  • Vocational benefits. Sanitation work is manual labor. Workers who can no longer perform these stressful tasks may be eligible for vocational retraining so they can work in a new job that requires less physical labor.
  • Partial disability benefits. If you can return to work with some restrictions at a lesser amount of pay, your temporary/permanent benefits are reduced. You’ll receive two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury wages and your new wages.

Do you have a Knoxville sanitation injury lawyer near me?

At Banks & Jones, we make it easy for injured sanitation workers to meet with us. We meet clients at our Knoxville office located at 2125 Middlebrook Pike. We make alternate in-person arrangements when necessary. You can also speak with us by phone or through video.

We understand your stress. We’ve helped many injured workers obtain just and full recoveries. We’ll help you obtain the workers’ compensation benefits you deserve.

Connect with our experienced Knoxville sanitation injury lawyers now

Sanitation workers help keep communities clean. They deserve to be treated fairly if they injure their back, are struck by a vehicle, or suffer any harm while performing their job duties. At Banks & Jones, we’re respected by former clients, insurance companies, and the legal community for our record of success in workers’ compensation and personal injury cases. Call us now or fill out our contact form to schedule a free consultation.

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