Driving tractor-trailers for a living can be lucrative, and our economy depends on products being delivered by long-haul truckers. But working as a trucker in and around Sioux Falls is also difficult, not to mention dangerous.
Truck accidents are always a danger, especially when other drivers on the road act dangerously. More commonly, the everyday wear and tear of being immobile in the driver’s seat for hours on end, along with the work of lifting and carrying heavy boxes, often leads to serious injuries.
Trucker injuries by the numbers
This is a problem for truckers throughout South Dakota and the entire country. According to Land Line, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that drivers of tractor-trailers and other heavy trucks missed more days from work in 2019 than any other type of job, except for laborers and movers of freight, stock and material. The BLS reported a total of 47,990 days of sick leave among truckers last year. Many of those missed days were likely due to non-work-related illnesses and injuries, but the fact that the industry ranked so high nationally suggests that much of the missed time resulted from work injuries.
By rate, truckers ranked first in missed work. Two truck drivers out of 100 reported missing work last year, the most of any U.S. industry. The next-highest rate was just 1.7 workers out of 100.
A work injury is a work injury, wherever it happens
Any injury suffered in the course of the victim’s work duties entitles them to workers’ compensation. The fact that a truck driver generally does not have a fixed workplace does not matter. Whether you suffer a permanent or temporary disability, workers’ comp can help you make ends meet. A workers’ compensation attorney can help you if your employer is treating your claim unfairly.