Being injured at work is worrisome enough.
Will you be able to get back to work? How are your bills going to be paid? How long will it take for the workers’ comp insurance company to begin paying your medical bills and wage loss benefits?
These are all valid questions, and without good answers, they can cause a lot of stress and anxiety.
But when your employer is attempting to discourage you from filing a workers’ comp claim, it adds insult to injury.
When the situation is an employer threatening an employee for being injured at work, that’s not fair and not legal.
We hear people say, “My boss threatened to fire me when I got injured at my job.”
If you’re in this situation, you need experienced workers’ compensation representation to help you get the benefits you deserve.
Contact the workers’ comp lawyers at Arechigo & Stokka for help. If you have questions on what to do, we have the answers.
My Boss Threatened to Fire Me
If you have suffered a work-related injury, you’re entitled to file a workers’ comp claim with your employer’s workers’ comp insurance company.
If you are hurt and off work and receiving medical treatment, the insurance company is supposed to pay for your medical bills and reimburse you for your lost wages.
But some employers don’t treat their employees fairly and try to convince them not to file for workers’ comp benefits.
If convincing the injured employee doesn’t work, threats are often used. Injured workers are sometimes threatened with reduced pay, reduced hours, not being promoted, and holding back other benefits of employment.
Sometimes the injured employee faces threats of termination if they file a workers’ comp claim.
Why would an employer not want an injured employee to file a workers’ comp claim? It’s all about making more money.
By law, employers are required to pay for workers’ comp insurance coverage. For this coverage, employers will pay a monthly insurance premium.
Usually, this can be pretty expensive, especially depending upon the type of industry you’re working in. Some industries have more work injuries than others.
For example, the construction industry is often at the top of the list yearly as the industry with the most work-related injuries.
That’s why a construction company’s workers’ comp insurance premiums can be high.
When employees get injured and make workers’ comp claims, it can raise the cost of workers’ comp insurance.
When this happens, the company will have to pay more every month in workers’ comp insurance premiums, which cuts into the company’s profits.
This is why employers will sometimes try to convince employees not to file a claim or even threaten an employee.
What Can You Do When Your Employer Refuses to File Your Workers’ Comp Claim?
Recent Case Settlement
THE CASE: We recently represented a client who suffered an injury while working here on a Visa from another country. After the Employee was injured, the employer refused to submit the claim to their insurer. The client was forced to go back to his home country. After filing the claim, the insurer claimed that the Employee cannot leave the jurisdiction and treat in another country. They also claimed that the Employee voluntarily removed himself from the job market by going home. They denied liability for the claim.
CASE RESULT: Weeks before trial, we successfully negotiated a settlement for payment of all medical bills and past and future wage loss benefits.
Everyone needs to work, and it’s understandable that a worker is afraid to lose their job if they file a workers’ comp claim. It shouldn’t be this way, though.
Employers should reduce work injuries by providing a work environment where safety procedures and protocols are followed, safety equipment is provided and used, and work injuries are rare.
But some employers care too much about the bottom line rather than the safety of their employees.
If your employer is dragging their feet on filling out a work injury report and submitting it to the workers’ comp insurance company, there’s not much an employee can do.
An employee can’t force the employer to do it. Or can they?
If you have been injured, a few weeks have gone by, and you haven’t heard anything from the workers’ comp insurance company, your employer is definitely dragging their feet.
Whether it is out of incompetence or intentional, you deserve to have your claim for workers’ comp benefits addressed and paid.
If you face this issue, your best course of action is to contact an experienced workers’ comp law firm.
In some cases, your lawyers can contact the employer and convince them to do the right thing.
But if not, your lawyers can file a workers’ comp claim with the state’s workers’ comp commission and begin litigating the case.
The sooner you contact an experienced workers’ comp law firm, the sooner they can start investigating the case and begin the workers’ comp claim process so you can win the benefits you deserve.
Minnesota Workers’ Comp Lawyers Provide Experienced Representation
If you have suffered a workers’ comp injury and your employer is refusing to do what’s right by filing a claim, the best way to get the benefits you deserve is to contact an experienced Minnesota workers’ comp law firm.
The workers’ comp attorneys at Arechigo & Stokka have decades of experience successfully representing injured Minnesota workers.
Contact us today to schedule a free initial consultation. If you have workers’ comp claim questions, we have the answers.
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