When you got hurt at work, you were caught off-guard by the accident. One minute, you were doing your job, and the next thing you knew you were dealing with a life-threatening emergency.
You’re not alone. Incidents happen in people’s workplaces all the time, putting people’s lives at risk. While many are able to recover, there is often a need for workers’ compensation so they can afford medical care and the treatments they need without having to pay for them out of pocket.
You may have the right to workers’ compensation
As an employee, you may have a right to workers’ compensation unless your employer is exempt. For most people, if you’re injured on the job, you can make a workers’ compensation claim and seek fair compensation to pay for your medical care and to cover your lost wages.
Can your employer fire you for asking to make a workers’ compensation claim?
Workers’ compensation is a benefit that most workers are entitled to if they are hurt on the job. Employers cannot retaliate against you if you decide that you want to make a claim. There are cases, however, when the employer may decide to end your employment with them.
For example, you may decide to make a workers’ compensation claim after getting hurt because you didn’t wear safety equipment on the job. If this was something you were warned about and had write-ups for in the past, the employer may have a right to terminate your role for putting others at risk. That doesn’t necessarily have to do with your right to make a claim for your injury but instead with a violation of workplace rules.
If you find yourself terminated after seeking workers’ compensation, it’s important to try to find out why. In many cases, terminations are not legal and hurt those who have been injured just because of doing their jobs.
Employers cannot retaliate against you for making your claim. If they try to stop you from making a claim or terminate you for saying you want to file one, then you may have a legal case against them and be able to seek compensation.
