If your employer fires you and you suspect it is because of the damages he is forced to pay by your compensation claims, get in touch with a St. Louis work injury lawyer immediately.
If you have suffered multiple work injuries at different times and you have filed workers compensation claims for all of them, then you might feel that it puts you in your employer’s attention, and not in a good way. Filing for benefits related to your work injuries obliges your employer to pay for your benefits. Remember, you are only claiming your rights – you are certainly not abusing them.
To answer the main question shortly: no, you cannot get fired for filing multiple compensation claims. In fact, if your employer even tries to persuade you into resigning following your workers comp claim, it is still considered a termination and coerced termination is illegal.
Wrongful Termination
If your employer fires you and you suspect it is because of the damages he is forced to pay by your compensation claims, get in touch with a St. Louis work injury lawyer immediately to file a suit for wrongful termination. Under no circumstances is an employer allowed to fire someone because of their disabilities or injuries.
Your employer might use other tactics to avoid a suit and bypass their responsibility. Forcing you to resign is still considered wrongful termination, whether it is by trying to convince you it is better for you to stay at home or to make the workplace so unbearable for you that you eventually resign. If you suspect your employer is manipulating you into resigning, tell everything to a lawyer and put together a defense plan.
When Can an Employer Fire an Injured Worker?
There are legitimate situations where an injured worker may be subject to termination by his or her employer. Some of these include:
- The employee was injured due to his or her impairment by alcohol, illegal drugs, or marijuana
- The employee willfully failed to follow safety rules and thereby put themselves or other workers at serious risk of injury
- The employee regularly and willfully violated the safety rules that led to his or her injuries
The employer may assert that the safety violations took place months before the accident and use that as a reason to fire the injured worker. In most of these situations it ends up going before an administrative law judge.
How to Handle Intimidation and Coercion from Your Employer
If you are the victim of harassment with the purpose of coerced resignation, contact a St. Louis workers compensation lawyer immediately and see how you can best gather evidence to sue for wrongful termination. Go on with your workers’ compensation claims and only discuss the case with your lawyer until it ends.
St. Louis Work Accident Attorneys
Located in St. Louis, Missouri, we represent work injury victims throughout Missouri. Handling all cases on a contingency basis, you owe us no attorney fees unless we recover the compensation you deserve.