Worker's Comp Mess
Sarah55
3 Posts
We have an employee that worked at a remote site with four others. He was injured over a year ago (back and neck injuries) and filed a comp claim. About a week after he was injured co-worker reported to supervisor that employee told him several times that he had continuing back problems from a motorcycle accident several years ago. We reported info to our carrier and they denied his claim. We requested employee to return to work and, when he did not, terminated him.
Employee retained an attorney and case was heard. It turns out that employee was never in a motorcycle accident but only received a broken nose. NO back injury (medical reports, witnesses to accident etc. all verified this). The judge ruled in employee's favor and he is now again receivng comp. He has not yet reached MMI, but I believe he will either seek reinstatement to his job (with many limitations) or may bring suit against us for retaliation.
What to do with employee out on comp as well as employee who provided false information? (We asked him about this false info and he still swears it is true).
Employee retained an attorney and case was heard. It turns out that employee was never in a motorcycle accident but only received a broken nose. NO back injury (medical reports, witnesses to accident etc. all verified this). The judge ruled in employee's favor and he is now again receivng comp. He has not yet reached MMI, but I believe he will either seek reinstatement to his job (with many limitations) or may bring suit against us for retaliation.
What to do with employee out on comp as well as employee who provided false information? (We asked him about this false info and he still swears it is true).
Comments
The employee's own doctor has said all along that he is unable to work. We believe that he will reach MMI soon and be released by his own doctor. The questions are:
1. Can he file suit against us for retaliation for filing a WC claim because of the termination (even though we relied in good faith on evidence provided).
2. If he wants to come back to work for us, do we have to rehire?
I don't think you can really do anything to the employee who you said gave you false information. They may believe they are telling you the truth. They may actually have been told this by the other employee. That's why a thorough investigation is so important.
You may be stuck with this one but next time, be sure to cover all your bases. If I have missed something and this response is way off base, please let me know.