QUESTION
What legal recourse do I have. Terminated while on light duty/partial comp in Pa
Asked on Feb 08th, 2014 on Workers Compensation - Pennsylvania
More details to this question:
Sustained work related back injury on 12-5-13. Injury properly reported and comp filed. Company doctor diagnosed Lumbar strain. Mri 1 month later reveled herniated disc with nerve compression in right leg. I have been following company doctors directions, pt once a week and have had doctor recheck back once a week. Doctor has had me also have 2 steroid injections in 3 weeks time. Doctors latest weekly restrictions stated "work limited to 4 hours a day" issued on 1-28-13. My shift started at 2pm on that same day as I received restrictions. At 6:50pm the same day i informed management my back was killing me and I no longer could stand and was going home for the day. As we have a point system for leaving early the company accessed me a one half point. When I returned to work on 1-30-13 I was brought into managers office and terminated for leaving early. That same day the company doctor issued me a medical excuse stating I was excuded for the day in question. I was on lightduty/partialcomp
1 ANSWER
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Bernard Stuczynski Barnett & Lager
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Based on what you've described, you're in a very delicate situation right now. If you are on doctor's restrictions for an accepted work injury, and your employer is unwilling to offer you work, the insurance company should be paying you wage-loss benefits. If the reason your employer isn't offering you work is because of a termination, whether or not you are entitled to wage-loss benefits depends on the circumstances surrounding your termination. If you are terminated "for cause," there are situations in which you are entitled to benefits, and situations where you are not. Being terminated because you medically cannot do your job should not be a "for cause" termination, but proving that might take a legal battle.
Your employer and the insurance company are probably going to use this termination as an excuse to stop your benefits. If you do not presently have a workers' compensation attorney, you NEED to get one. The stakes are too high and the system is too complex to handle it on your own.
If you don't already have an attorney, I'd be happy to speak with you regarding your work injury and resulting termination and give you more specific information at no charge. If you'd like to speak with me, call my office on Monday morning at (814) 452-6232 and ask for me. Regardless if you call me or not, you really need to hire an attorney.
Answered on Feb 08th, 2014 at 8:09 PM