Hopefully you have a wonderful employer who will support you on your quest to return to work and file for injury benefits after an on-the-job accident, but it’s important to remember that you and your employer have different priorities, so know that they aren’t really in your corner. Because of these different goals, it’s also possible that your employer will take an opposing stance and try to limit their liability by shifting the blame onto you for your injuries.
What should you do if your employer is passively or openly blaming you for your injuries? We explain what steps you’ll want to take in today’s blog.
I’m Getting Blamed For My Work Injury
Your employer may be annoyed or even angry that you’re injured and forced to miss work. Odds are they’ll have to spend time and money filling the role that you’ll be vacating while you recover, and their insurance premiums may increase, but that is simply a potential cost of doing business. Grow a business to almost any size, and the question isn’t “if” an employee will suffer an injury, but “when.” The fact that it happened may not be ideal, but an employer shouldn’t try to shift blame onto the employee. You’re already dealing with enough as it is.
Moreover, blaming the employee isn’t going to be an effective move, unless the company is placing blame on the employee because they have evidence that the employee intentionally caused the accident. Intentional injuries would be considered fraud, so an employer may blame the employee for their injuries if evidence suggests the employee intentionally injured themselves in order to collect injury benefits.
However, if they are simply trying to blame the employee, either to shame them or in hopes that it will keep them from filing for injury benefits, it’s a rather poor move. For starters, as long as it wasn’t intentional, it doesn’t matter if the employee is to blame for the accident. If it occurred during the normal course of their work duties, then the employee is eligible for compensation.
For example, if you were up on a ladder and you leaned too far while hanging a gutter and fell to the ground, you really don’t have anyone to blame but yourself for this accident. However, because it happened during the course of your work duties, you’re still eligible for compensation. The onus for the injury can fall completely on you, but that doesn’t render you ineligible for compensation. Any employer who tries to blame an employee in hopes that it will discourage them from filing for compensation is mistaken or acting nefariously.
Remember, an employer can’t threaten you with or take retaliatory action against you for filing a workers’ compensation claim, and if they are intentionally trying to keep you from filing by blaming you for the accident, they are in the wrong, not you. Make sure your lawyer knows that you are being blamed or if your company cuts your hours because you filed a claim. You may have a second legal claim on your hands if this is the case.
If you’re being blamed for your work injury, stay the course and do what you need to do to earn compensation. Report the injury right away, be evaluated by a physician, talk to a lawyer and follow their advice as the claim plays out. Control what you can control and don’t worry about what your employer or co-workers are saying about the accident. Now is not the time to worry about blame or fault, it’s a time to focus on your health and your claim. You worry about your health, and we’ll get you everything you deserve with your claim.
For more information on how we can help with your workers’ compensation claim, connect with Dean and the team at Margolis Law Firm today at (952) 230-2700.
