The Employment Fall Out of Work Comp Claims

We all derive a big piece of our identity from our vocation. What we do for a living is a huge part of who we are. That has become even more apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic, when so many workers have been stuck at home quarantining for months on end. So when a person gets hurt on the job and the resulting claim puts a strain on the employment relationship, it is not uncommon for the injured person to feel betrayed, depressed, rejected, etc.

One of the most frequent complaints I hear from injured workers is “nobody at the company even called to see how I was doing.” These people don’t just have hurt bodies, they have hurt feelings, and with good reason. Many of us come to see our coworkers as our “work family.” After all, we probably spend more waking hours with them than we do our own, immediate families.

Too often, when a person gets hurt at work, that is the beginning of the end of their career with the employer of injury. Employers can act suspiciously toward injured workers, especially small businesses, who may feel like they’re being taken advantage of by someone who they supported and gave a job to. On the other hand, injured workers are, well, injured. That, alone, can cause depression. In addition, they are trying to navigate an unfamiliar insurance system in order to get treatment and benefits that will help them recover and survive, and it can be daunting. If you add hostilities with the employer to that mix, it’s no wonder so many injured workers never come back to the place they were hurt.

Here are a couple of suggestions for both sides:

Employers, use your HR department and reach out early and often to an injured worker. Despite what some people believe, nobody gets hurt on purpose, and the vast majority of injured workers want to get better and return their jobs. If you’re a small company and don’t have a formal HR department, pick up the phone and call them yourself. A few simple phone calls (or better yet, a get-well gift basket) are a tiny investment that could have huge returns. There is no question that getting an injured worker back to health and returning them to the same job is better for the both employer and the worker. The employer avoids the liability of a longer work comp claim, added liability of separating an employee, and the extra work and costs associated with hiring and training someone new. The employee deals with a longer recovery, lost income from missing work, and the prospects of going out on the job market and trying to find new work while still possibly being hampered from the injury.

My suggestion for injured workers, try not to take your employer’s silence personally. Just because an employer doesn’t call you up and ask about your health doesn’t mean they don’t care. Lots of employers are hesitant to reach out to an injured worker because they don’t fully understand the system and they are worried about being sued. That concern can trickle down to coworkers, who are also afraid to call and are sometimes even told by management not to contact the injured worker. The best thing you can do as an injured worker is to focus on your recovery and try to put the things you can’t control out of your mind, hard as that may be.

Finally, both sides should understand there are legal consequences beyond the realm of workers’ compensation. The Elliott Larsen Civil Rights Act makes it illegal for employers to discipline or discharge and employee in retaliation for exercising a statutory right (like, for example, making a claim to workers’ compensation). In addition, even if an injury is deemed not to be work-related, there are additional protections that may apply to the injured person’s job, like the Americans With Disabilities Act, the Michigan Persons With Disabilities Civil Rights Act, and the Family Medical Leave Act.

If you have been injured or are facing difficulties with your employer, call the experts at Bolhouse Hofstee & McLean today for a free consultation.

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