Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, United Airlines is one of the largest airlines in North America and a founding member of the Star Alliance. It merged with Continental Airlines in 2010.
United Airlines employs more than 85,000 people and transported more than 158 million passengers last year. It has more than 1300 aircraft and averages more than 5,000 flights per day to hundreds of destinations in 48 countries across five continents.
Operating this many flights and transporting this many passengers results in a fast-paced environment for airline workers. And this type of environment requires airline workers to have to face many potential hazards that can cause injury.
If you’re a United Airlines employee injured on the job, call me for a free consultation: 804-251-1620 or 757-810-5614. Depending on what hub you are based out of and where your injury occurs, you may need to file a workers compensation claim in Virginia.
And as your workers comp attorney I’ll help you get all the benefits you deserve for your on-the-job injury or occupational disease, and negotiate a top-dollar United Airlines workers compensation settlement. All you have to do is call or email me.
United Airlines has seven hubs:
The hub you are based out of and where you are in at the time of your flight injury determines what state has jurisdiction over your workers compensation claim with United Airlines.
Washington Dulles International Airport is located in Loudoun County and Fairfax County, both of which are in Virginia.
United Airlines and its regional partners operate more than 225 daily flights out of Washington Dulles. This includes both domestic flights and flights to Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, the Caribbean, Canada, and Asia.
These flights carry roughly 20,000 passengers per day, meaning United Airlines transports more than 7 million passengers at Washington Dulles each year.
To serve these flights and passengers United Airlines employs close to 6,000 employees in the Virginia-Washington DC – Maryland area. And many more airline employees who live elsewhere but are based out of Washington Dulles.
Virginia workers compensation laws govern your United Airlines work injury claim if your employment contract states that you are based out of Washington Dulles and you are hurt on the job. This is true even if you live out of state or are injured on a flight in another state or country..
The Virginia Workers Compensation Commission also has jurisdiction over your case if you are a United Airlines employee based elsewhere who gets hurt while in a flight over Virginia or while on a layover in the state.
And hiring a top-rated United Airlines workers comp attorney with experience handling Virginia claims will put you in the best position to get the wage loss, medical, and disability benefits you deserve.
Depending on the severity of your injury you may be entitled to many types of workers compensation benefits. Possible benefits for injured United Airlines employees include:
If you are a United Airlines employee injured on the job, you may have many options to receive compensation for your disability. You can pursue these options at the same time you pursue workmans comp.
For example, you may qualify for long term disability or Social Security Disability if you are unable to perform your job duties because of injury or occupational illness. But make sure you hire an experienced United Airlines workers comp attorney to address any potential Social Security Disability or Long Term Disability offset when negotiating settlement. Otherwise you may forfeit tens of thousands of dollars.
You may also have a personal injury case if you were injured by someone else’s negligence and that person is not a co-worker.
For example, if a passenger attacks you on a flight you may file a negligence action under tort law in circuit court while receiving workers comp benefits for a workplace assault. Or if you’re hurt in a car accident while being shuttled to an airport between flights, you may try to negotiate a motor vehicle accident settlement.
Just make sure you address the workers comp lien if you have a third party claim for which you also received benefits from United Airlines.
More than 75% of United Airlines’ employees are union members. So if you’re a United Airline employee reading this article because you were hurt on the job, chances are good that you belong to one of the following labor unions:
And as a labor union member you are a party to a collective bargaining agreement (CBA). This is the written agreement between United Airlines and your labor union setting forth the conditions of your employment, including pay rates and work hours.
The CBA may also put restrictions on whether you can work for another employer or yourself while employed by United Airlines. This can lead to conflict if you are not under an open award of benefits and required to look for light duty work to receive workmans comp payments because United Airlines refuses to offer light duty. It’s important to call an experienced United Airlines work injury attorney in this situation.
The CBA should also cover fringe benefits, including retirement benefits, pension payments, long term disability benefits, and flight benefits.
When negotiating your United Airlines workers comp settlement, I can help you protect your vested rights under the applicable CBA. And make sure you keep your flight benefits even if you sign a resignation and release as a term of settlement.
Whether you are a baggage handler, ticket counter agent, caterer, fueler, mechanic, maintenance team member, flight attendant, pilot, or cargo handler, you face many hazards on the job.
I’ve helped airline employees obtain workers comp benefits for the following injuries:
No matter the type of injury suffered while working for United Airlines, I can help you.
Though United Airlines is a self-insured employer, it often uses a third-party claims administrator (TPA) and defense counsel to defend workmans comp claims. The TPA and firms used may change over time, depending on many factors. But they all have one goal: to minimize the amount of money United Airlines must pay you for your work injury.
Recently Sedgwick Claims Management Services has administered United Airlines workers comp claims in Virginia. And the law firm of Franklin & Prokopik out of Northern Virginia has defended them.
I am familiar with both Sedgwick and this law firm. And I can help you resolve your United Airlines work injury claim – whether it involves appealing a denied claim, handling a nurse case manager or vocational rehabilitation counselor, obtaining an award agreement, presenting your case at a workers compensation hearing, resisting an appeal by the employer, or negotiating a full and final settlement.
Virginia has a no-fault workers compensation system, meaning you do not need to prove that your employer’s negligence caused your occupational accident and injury.
But you still have to prove that you suffered an injury by accident arising out of and in the course of your employment. And that you have current disability because of your injury.
Even then, you may still have to prove that you conducted a good faith job search within your residual work capacity to collect income replacement benefits. And this sometimes conflicts with your labor union’s collective bargaining agreement.
As if these requirements aren’t difficult enough, you may also have to deal with a defense attorney looking for ways to deny you the benefits you deserve.
Don’t take on the workers comp system alone. Call me for a free consultation if you’re looking for an experienced United Airlines workers comp attorney who handles claims in Virginia: 804-251-1620 or 757-810-5614. No matter where you live or where you were hurt, I can help.