×

This article on Epainassist.com has been reviewed by a medical professional, as well as checked for facts, to assure the readers the best possible accuracy.

We follow a strict editorial policy and we have a zero-tolerance policy regarding any level of plagiarism. Our articles are resourced from reputable online pages. This article may contains scientific references. The numbers in the parentheses (1, 2, 3) are clickable links to peer-reviewed scientific papers.

The feedback link “Was this Article Helpful” on this page can be used to report content that is not accurate, up-to-date or questionable in any manner.

This article does not provide medical advice.

1

Injured At Work, Then Fired

It is true that every employer takes appropriate steps to provide a safe workplace for its employees. However, you can never be sure that you will not get injured at the workplace. Many people face this concern of what if you are injured at work then fired? This article discusses this in detail.

Injured At Work, Then Fired

Injured at Work, Then Fired

Wondering what to do if you are injured at work and then fired? In case you get injured and are not able to work for some period, even then the employer has no right to fire the injured employee. In case the employer fires the injured employee then the worker can file a case against the employer.

An employer needs a very strong reason to terminate an employee, who is injured while working at the workplace. The law always protects the employees in case they are fired at the disabled state. The injured employees can lodge a case against their employer if they are fired during the disabled state without any proper justification. As per law, the employer has no right to terminate the injured employees while they get injured during working and if they do so, then they have to give a huge fine as per law.

In law, it is considered that an employee mostly gets injured due to the bad working condition and negligence of the employer. It could point at improper infrastructure or inadequate safety precautions or any kind of negligence on the part of the employer, which led to the injury.

When an employee gets injured at the time of working in the workplace the employee has full right to get the benefit of worker’s compensation. Not only that, the employee will also have the right to not to return to work until the treating physician declares the injured employee fit to resume work and issues a fitness certificate for the same.

During that period, the employee can continue with the Temporal Total Disability (TTD) worker’s compensation benefits. However, in case the physician provides some work restriction to the employee and the employer is not ready to accommodate the restriction then also the employee can claim the full benefit of Temporal Total Disability (TTD) worker’s compensation. During this period, it is the responsibility of the employer to accommodate light duty restrictions for mitigating the exposure as well as for returning the employee back to their normal routine work.

In some cases, it is seen that when the recovering employees return back to the light duty, they are given lesser pay as compared to that of their previous normal salary.

This may demotivate the employee and create a sense of negativity and dissatisfaction. This may sometimes affect eh performance too. In such case also the employer has no right to fire the employee. It is the duty of the employer to keep the recovering employee motivated and encourage them to continue with the medical treatment that may include physical therapy or any other form of rehabilitation suggested by the physician for returning back to the normal work. Until the physician issues Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) certificate and declares that the employee is free to take the full work responsibility, the employer is bound to accommodate the employee in the light duty.

It is important to know that with all these privileges, if an employee is injured at work then fired, it is completely wrong and they can fight for it.

Conclusion

Thus, no employer has the right to terminate the employee or not compensate when the employee is injured at work. In case the employer terminates the employee, the employer has to give full benefit of Temporal Total Disability (TTD) worker’s compensation. If you wondering what to do when you are injured at work then fired, the answer to seek help of the law.

In case the employer does not want to provide the compensation benefit, the employee can knock the door of the law and can take an appropriate step. The law always supports the employee in such a case. So, the employee should file a case against the employer if such a situation is held and takes the full worker’s compensation benefits.

References:

  1. U.S. Department of Labor: “Workers’ Compensation” by the U.S. Department of Labor Link: https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/workcomp

  2. National Conference of State Legislatures: “Workers’ Compensation” by the National Conference of State Legislatures Link: https://www.ncsl.org/research/labor-and-employment/workers-compensation-overview.aspx

  3. Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute: “Employment At Will: Overview” by the Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute Link: https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/employment_at_will

Also Read:

Team PainAssist
Team PainAssist
Written, Edited or Reviewed By: Team PainAssist, Pain Assist Inc. This article does not provide medical advice. See disclaimer
Last Modified On:July 19, 2023

Recent Posts

Related Posts