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Hurt On The Job And Fired??

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hotprince951

Junior Member
California- I Was Hurt On The Job And Was Taken Off Of Work For A Week, I Was Still Experiencing Pain And I Called In Til I Was Able To See The Doctor Again, And I Was Terminated. And I Wasn't Payed For The Days The Doctor Took Me Off Of Work. Should I Seek An Attorney?
 


tjr5150

Member
California- I Was Hurt On The Job And Was Taken Off Of Work For A Week, I Was Still Experiencing Pain And I Called In Til I Was Able To See The Doctor Again, And I Was Terminated. And I Wasn't Payed For The Days The Doctor Took Me Off Of Work. Should I Seek An Attorney?
Who took you off work for a week? Why did you call in till you were able to see the doctor again? If the doctor had you on light duty and able to work with restrictions, and you just thought it would be ok to call in sick until you seen the doctor again, then yes you can be fired..You stated you did not recieve any pay, was a incident report filled out? was a work comp claim filed? you need to include more info on your situation..
 

hotprince951

Junior Member
tjr5150 said:
Who took you off work for a week? Why did you call in till you were able to see the doctor again? If the doctor had you on light duty and able to work with restrictions, and you just thought it would be ok to call in sick until you seen the doctor again, then yes you can be fired..You stated you did not recieve any pay, was a incident report filled out? was a work comp claim filed? you need to include more info on your situation..
CALIFORNIA- The doctor took me off work for a week. I filled out an incident report, and there was a comp claim filed. The primary doctor sent me to a chiropractor, I scheduled an appointment, he was unable to see me because my employers "workmans comp division" did not authorize it. Not only did I lose 1 weeks pay, I still have not recieved my final paycheck, after two weeks. Their reason for firing me was "Job Abandonment"
 

DEeyore

Junior Member
I'm not sure about the State that you live in, but when a doctor fills out a form stating "Unable to work until_____", that should serve as a legal document entitling you to take as much time off as he or she thinks is appropriate according to your injury. I'm pretty sure that you're going to have trouble with the Chiropractor not being able to see you during your absence, though.

I learned from experience (at least in my State, Pennsylvania) that I was entitled to seek medical attention from another doctor without having to wait on the Worker's Compensation Doctor's scheduled appointments. And don't quote me on it, but in a lot of cases, Worker's Compensation doesn't always view Chiropractors as credible sources when it comes to diagnosing a major back or spinal injury. My Father saw a Chiropractor for years until WC just decided that he wasn't qualified to prove that his back condition warranted SWIF benefits and they just stopped paying the guy. From the last I heard, he is still suing the company that my father used to work at for unpaid medical treatment.

I can relate with you on the issue of my former employer stating that I supposedly "Quit voluntarily due to illness." after my own SWIF benefits were stopped. If you really wanted to stick it to them, you could ask them to produce a letter of resignation or some other form of proof that you quit voluntarily, but it sounds like the only thing that you do have is that Doctor's note stating that you were unable to return until you were well enough to perform your job. As long as you have that note, you have proof that you could not return to work under Doctor's orders. I would definitely seek an attorney's advice on this matter.
 
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cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
when a doctor fills out a form stating "Unable to work until_____", that should serve as a legal document entitling you to take as much time off as he or she thinks is appropriate according to your injury

With very few exceptions, a doctor's note has no force in law. It is not within the doctor's perogative to "take an employee off work" - the employer runs the business, not the doctor.

While an employer cannot fire an employee BECAUSE they filed a workers comp claim in any state, they are not obligated to hold a job indefinitely, either. How long they are REQUIRED to hold it depends on the state and the length of time the employee was employed before the injury.
 

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