Florida ranks among the top three states in the nation for large truck crashes, with over 10,000 incidents reported in 2023 alone, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The state is also home to nearly 106,000 heavy truck drivers — the third-largest commercial driving workforce in the country. Yet many of these workers remain unaware of the legal complexity they face when an on-the-job accident occurs.
The problem most injured truck drivers don't know they have
Consider a common scenario: A commercial truck driver is rear-ended while making a delivery. The driver suffers back and neck injuries serious enough to require surgery and extended time off work. In this situation, there isn't just one case. There are two, and sometimes three.
First, there's the auto accident claim — a personal injury case against the at-fault driver. Second, because the injury happened while the trucker was working, there's a workers' compensation claim against the employer's insurance carrier. And if the injuries are severe enough to prevent the driver from returning to work for an extended period, a Social Security Disability claim may also come into play.
Each of these claims operates under entirely different legal frameworks. Workers' compensation is a no-fault system with capped benefits. A personal injury lawsuit can pursue pain and suffering, lost future earnings, and other damages that workers' comp doesn't cover. Social Security Disability has its own eligibility requirements and approval timeline. The three systems don't talk to each other — but the outcome of one directly affects the value of the others.
Why the order of settlement changes everything
According to Orlando attorney Frank Eidson, who has practiced personal injury, workers' compensation, and Social Security Disability law for more than 35 years, the strategic sequencing of these claims is where most injured truck drivers — and many attorneys — get it wrong.
"When you settle a workers' comp case, it can create a lien against your personal injury recovery. When you settle the personal injury case first, it can affect your workers' comp benefits. And both of them interact with your Social Security claim in ways that most people don't anticipate," Eidson says. "The timing and sequencing of how and when you resolve each case is a technique that requires experience across all three areas of law. Most firms don't practice in all three, so they can't coordinate them."
The practical impact is significant. A workers' compensation carrier that pays medical bills and lost wages has a statutory right to recover a portion of those benefits from any third-party personal injury settlement. How that lien is negotiated, and when each case is settled relative to the other, directly determines how much money the injured worker actually keeps.
When a Social Security Disability case is also in play, the calculation becomes even more complex. Disability benefits can be offset by workers' comp payments, and the structuring of a workers' comp settlement can either protect or erode those disability benefits depending on how it's handled.
A gap in the legal industry that hurts workers
The challenge for injured truck drivers isn't a lack of attorneys. It's a lack of attorneys who practice across all three disciplines simultaneously.
In many cases, a driver involved in an on-the-job accident will hire a personal injury attorney for the auto claim and a separate workers' compensation attorney for the workplace injury claim. Each attorney may be highly competent in their respective area. But without a coordinated strategy between the two cases, the injured worker is often left with a fragmented approach that doesn't account for how one settlement affects the other.
"The worst scenario I see is when a driver settles their workers' comp case quickly because the insurance company puts pressure on them, and then they come to me for the personal injury side and the lien has already eaten into their recovery," Eidson explains. "Or they settle the PI case without accounting for the comp lien, and they end up owing money back. These are mistakes that can't be undone."
A growing problem on Florida's roads
The scope of this issue extends well beyond any single law firm's caseload. Nationally, fatal crashes involving large trucks increased by 52% between 2010 and 2021. Florida's position as a freight corridor — with Interstate 4, Interstate 95, and Interstate 75 carrying heavy commercial traffic between ports, distribution centers, and population hubs — means the state's truck drivers face disproportionate risk.
The trucking industry nationally employs approximately 3.58 million drivers, with an aging workforce (average age in the mid-to-late 40s) and annual turnover rates exceeding 90% at many large carriers. These workforce pressures mean drivers are often working longer hours under tighter deadlines, increasing accident risk. And when those accidents happen on the job, the legal complexity is immediate.
One attorney, one strategy, three claims
Eidson's firm, Frank M. Eidson, P.A., based in downtown Orlando, is one of a small number of practices in the state that handles personal injury, workers' compensation, and Social Security Disability cases under one roof. The firm's track record includes a $1.15 million result for a truck accident involving a traumatic brain injury, a $2.3 million workers' compensation outcome, a $1.2 million auto accident result that also secured $1,600 per month in Social Security Disability benefits, and multiple cases resulting in lifetime indemnity and medical benefits.
"When I take on a case where a truck driver was hurt on the job in a vehicle accident, I'm not just looking at one claim," Eidson says. "I'm looking at the full picture. Which case do we settle first? How do we structure the workers' comp settlement to protect the client's disability benefits? How do we negotiate the lien to maximize what the client actually walks away with? These aren't separate conversations. They're one strategy."
Eidson, a Vanderbilt University graduate and University of Florida College of Law alumnus, has been recognized by Super Lawyers Magazine every year since 2007, was named Lawyer of the Year by the Orlando Business Journal, and was recently recognized as a top attorney by Orlando Magazine. He has been practicing since 1989 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements and results for Central Florida clients across all three practice areas.
What injured truck drivers should know
For truck drivers who have been injured in an on-the-job vehicle accident in Florida, Eidson recommends the following:
- Understand that you may have more than one claim. If you were working when the accident happened and another driver was at fault, you likely have both a personal injury case and a workers' compensation case. Don't assume one attorney is handling both.
- Don't settle either case without understanding the impact on the other. A quick workers' comp settlement can reduce your personal injury recovery. A personal injury settlement without lien negotiation can leave you owing money back to the workers' comp carrier.
- Ask about Social Security Disability early. If your injuries may prevent you from returning to work for 12 months or more, a disability claim should be evaluated from the start — not as an afterthought.
- Look for an attorney who practices in all three areas. The coordination between personal injury, workers' comp, and Social Security Disability is where the real value is created. A single attorney who understands all three systems can build a unified strategy that separate attorneys cannot. Learn more about why injured workers need an attorney who understands this complexity.
About Frank M. Eidson, P.A.
Frank M. Eidson, P.A. is a personal injury, workers' compensation, and Social Security Disability law firm located at 327 N. Orange Ave., Orlando, FL 32801. Founded in 1989, the firm has spent more than 35 years representing injured workers and accident victims throughout Central Florida. Frank Eidson provides individual attention and personalized service to every client and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts. The firm offers free, no-obligation case evaluations.
For more information or to schedule a free case review:
Frank M. Eidson, P.A.
327 N. Orange Ave., Orlando, FL 32801
Phone: 407-245-2887
Website: www.frankeidson.com
Contact us for a free case evaluation
SOURCE Frank Eidson PA
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