Workersโ Compensation and Employer Defense Tactics
When a worker in Pennsylvania suffers an injury, they are protected by a particular set of rules that helps them maintain their rights. These rules are known as workersโ compensation laws. In PA, employers with any employees are required to purchase workersโ compensation insurance to cover both themselves and their workers. In other states, some companies are allowed to self-insure themselves or act as their own private insurance company.
When an employee is hurt on the job, they are covered by the workersโ comp insurance that their employer carries. This insurance covers their medical bills and a portion of their lost wages, as well as vocational rehabilitation benefits and death benefits for surviving family members. If an employer does not carry workersโ compensation insurance, they could be subject to fines or criminal charges.
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What is Workersโ Compensation Defense?
When an employer fails to purchase workersโ compensation protection coverage as required by law, they may need to defend themselves when facing criminal charges or a personal injury lawsuit is filed against them by their injured employees. If you are a business owner accused of not protecting their employees with workersโ comp. coverage, working with a powerful legal advocate may be the best way to protect your rights and avoid some of the potential penalties of a verdict that is not in your favor.
Common Workers Comp Employer Defensesย
Employers will often turn to a variety of defenses to avoid approving employees’ workers’ comp claims. However, it should be noted that even if an employee does not qualify for or meet the eligibility requirements for workersโ compensation benefits, if a company does not have workers comp protection coverage as required by Pennsylvania law, penalties and sanctions may still apply.
With that in mind, some of the most common employer workersโ comp defenses include:
- Employees engaging in”horseplayโ
- Employees self-inflicted their injuries
- The employee was under the influence of drugs or alcohol
- The employee failed to follow the companyโs code of conduct
- The employee failed to notify the employer of their work-related injuries
- The employee had a pre-existing condition
- The employee’s injuries were not within the scope of their employment responsibilities
- The employees failed to file their workersโ compensation claim before the statute of limitations expiration date
Injured employees will likely have experienced workersโ compensation attorneys working with them to get denied claims overturned on appeal. For this reason, if you are an employer who anticipates winding up in court over a workersโ compensation matter, it is critical that you have a defense attorney on your side who can help protect you and your company from liability.
Employers May Face Penalties
There are many instances that injured workers can sue their employer rather than receive workersโ compensation. This is why employers may be in trouble if they do not carry workersโ compensation insurance. Failure to carry the proper insurance can result in:
- Fines
- Criminal prosecution
- Personal liability of the employer for the injury that their employee sustained
- An employeeโs option to sue the company rather than filing for workersโ compensation
Remain in Compliance With State Law
In addition to having workersโ compensation insurance readily available for your staff, employers should also comply with these rules:
- Post a notice of compliance with workersโ compensation laws in an easily accessible area on the job site.
- Have immediate medical treatment available for an employee that has received an injury on the job.
- Facilitate the process for further care if an employee is unable to find a proper physician for treatment.
- Complete a proper report of the injury and send it to the closest workersโ compensation office. A copy of the report should also be mailed immediately to the companyโs insurance company. An employer that does not make an injury report after the injury could be charged with a misdemeanor or fine.
- Make a written report of every single personal injury accident that takes away from work time or needs more treatment than readily available first aid treatment.
- Comply with all requests from the insurance company or workersโ compensation board for any documents, such as reports of the date of the employeeโs return to work or a statement of the employeeโs earnings before and after the accident.
Employerโs Duty Not to Retaliate
Although workersโ compensation provides employees with benefits for medical treatments and many other things, they also have to prevent their employer from retaliating against them for the injury occurring. Some employers will frown upon their employers for filing workersโ compensation. And quite a few employers attempt to mount a workersโ compensation employer defense against claims.
To protect employees from employers that will discriminate or wrongfully terminate them, states prohibit this action and allow employees to sue companies for the tort of โretaliatory discharge.โ
If an employee believes that they are wrongfully discharged or discriminated against after filing for workersโ compensation, they may be eligible to file for a retaliatory discharge case. In a retaliatory discharge case, the plaintiff must prove that their employee wrongfully fired them after they filed for workersโ compensation. However, the employer does not have to admit that the workersโ compensation case was the sole reason for the termination.
Apart from discrimination, employers can also use retaliation by demoting an employee or reducing their salary. Injured employees are protected from retaliatory behavior immediately after the injury occurred and the workersโ compensation claim was filed.
Contact a Workersโ Compensation Employer Defense Attorney
If your business did not have workersโ compensation insurance coverage, or you are accused of failing to protect your employees with workersโ comp., and you are unsure of how to avoid the severe penalties, make sure you get a trusted workersโ compensation employer defense attorney working for you.
At Krasno, Krasno & Onwudinjo, we work hard to help employees that are discriminated against after hurting themselves on the job. Our dedicated team of workersโ compensation lawyers will work hard to help you receive the rights that you deserve. Contact us at (866)-948-9088 for a free case evaluation or more information.
