You were injured while at work, you filed a claim with your employer to get workers comp, and now you are being told you no longer have a job. This is a frustrating situation that is enough to make anyone upset, and it is also a sign you could be being unfairly treated by your employer and their workers compensation insurance company. In situations like this, it is imperative that you seek an attorney immediately for counsel. There are things you may be able to do, because of the rights you have as an employee. Here is a look at a few things you should know, if you were fired after filing for workers comp.
You can actually be fired even if you are injured.
Even though you are injured, it does not necessarily mean that you have a new layer of protection against being fired. You are still an employee of a business and that business can likely fire you for certain reasons. Of course, it is not legal for them to fire you specifically because you have been injured, filed a workers comp claim, or even if you are drawing benefits. However, if there is some other reason that the company chooses to fire you after you have filed a claim, they actually can.
If the firing was retaliation, you have a legal case.
If you are certain that you were let go from your employer just because you've been injured, you do have a right to sue the company. Employers cannot fire someone simply to retaliate against them because they are injured or have filed a claim. It will be up to you and your lawyer to prove in court that you were terminated because of your injury, however.
Workers comp claims still have to be paid, if you win the case.
If you do go to court and sue your employer for letting you go because you were injured, you may actually still be awarded workers comp benefits, if you win your claim. Technically, it would still be workers comp responsibility to pay you while you are unable to work, since you were unjustly terminated. It is not uncommon for employees to go to court with these claims and walk away with a settlement and workers comp payments to cover them until they get back to work.
If you think that you may have been terminated unjustly and have need of workers compensation funds, contact a workers compensation attorney.
Share8 July 2019
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