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Injured as a result of employer's negligence

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shartla1

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Florida
I was injured on my employer's property as a result of their negligence, during working hours. I have not been able to work for six months. I receive medical treatment paid by work comp but they refuse to address the issue of indemnity benefits. I have retained an attorney and a mediation hearing is scheduled in Oct. My current attorney has offered little in the way of advice outside the scope of mediation.
Am I only entitled to work comp benefits even though this injury was a direct result of my employer's negligence?
(I posted this next question in the benefits forum) My employer cancelled my health insurance and a notice was not provided under Cobra. I did not learn that my health benefits were cancelled until 6 weeks later in a letter from Blue Cross which will not provide me a copy of the cancellation request from my employer. Am I entitled to a copy of the cancellation request?
What protection from termination is afforded me as an employee injured on the job?
What action can I take if they have terminated my employment while under work comp? As of yet I have received a notice of termination, but I suspect they have unofficially done so.
How can I find out if they have terminated my employment without contacting them directly? I would rather not contact them given their obvious underhanded tactics, and would feel more comfortable doing so with legal counsel.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 


cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
I'll let Beth handle the issue of your compensation; she's got a lot more experience in that line than I do.

I've answered your COBRA questions on the benefits board. You are NOT entitled to a copy of the cancellation request. You ARE entitled to written notification of your right to COBRA. I don't know if you've seen my most recent response but I have, in your other thread, given you information about what to do if you are not provided with that notification.

You have no protection from termination because you were injured on the job. The law does NOT require that they hold your job indefinitely, regardless of whether you were injured on or off the job. Barring a state law to the contrary (and FL does NOT have one,) the maximum length of time an employer is required to hold a job for an employee on medical leave is 12 weeks. After 12 weeks, they can legally fire you, regardless of how you were injured and regardless of how legitimate the need for additional medical leave may be. In some states (mine is one of them, but I don't know if FL is) because you were injured on the job if there is an opening for which you are qualified, after you are able to work again, they are required to give you preference in hiring. But you'll have to check with a local w/c attorney to see if FL has such a law.

You can take no legal action if they have termed you. There is a fair amount of misunderstanding about job security in w/c situations. While they cannot fire you or select you for layoff BECAUSE you filed a workers comp claim, that is a very different thing from firing you because, six months after the fact, you are still unable to return to work. The latter is legal.

I think you can take it as a safe assumption, all things considered, that you have been terminated. But again, under the circumstances you have described, such a termination would NOT be illegal.

I can understand that you don't want to contact them directly. On the other hand, since they would not have violated the law in terming you, an attorney might be overkill. What I would suggest would be to call them and ask them. since you have received your HIPAA certificate (that's what you were sent by BCBS), when can you expect your COBRA notification? The answer may give you some ammo to work with if you decide to complain to the DOL.
 

Beth3

Senior Member
Negligence is not an issue in worker's comp. If an employee is injured in the course of their job, then it's worker's comp and the employer is liable. Period. Even if the employee him/herself was entirely at fault, such as two employees playing "chicken" with the forklifts. (A few States have exceptions to this if the employee was found to be under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs at the time of the injury.)

From what you have shared, I don't understand why you aren't receiving indemnity payments. By any chance are there different medical opinions about your ability to work? Such as your doctor saying you can't but the WC carrier's doctor saying you can?

I also suspect by "mediation" you mean a pre-hearing conference with the State, your employer/the WC carrier, and you and your attorney.
 

shartla1

Junior Member
I had a previous back injury with another company 12 years earlier which required two surgeries. I had no physical restriction at this company until my accident in 2002. I missed some work immediatelyafter the accident, have been under the care of the approved wc doctor the entire time since then, under went numerous nerve blocks and injections and physical therapy. I started missing more and more work, injections no longer helped and the pain became so debilitating that my medication was increased to high narcotics in March and I was place on TTD and have not worked since. In addition to indemnity benefits I have also been denied referral to an orthopedic surgeon and my claim has passed numerous times to different claims reps which complicated this process enormously.
I suspect that even though I have followed all wc instruction and have provided my employer with continuous updates regarding my condition while I was working and since being place on TTD, that my employer and the wc carrier will try to use my prior injury as an out. I don't see how they can do this given all the facts, but it appears that I would have been better off not to return to work after this accident and collected disabiliy this entire time. Hindsight...
 

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