Study: injured workers who fear for jobs slower to return to work
A number of things race through a person’s mind after they suffer a workplace injury. They wonder how serious the injury is, how long they might miss work and whether they will qualify for medical and financial assistance available from Colorado workers’ compensation insurance.
According to a recent report, injured workers often worry about being fired after their injury. The study was recently conducted by the Workers Compensation Research Institute.
What the study found was that workers who were worried that they would be fired as a result of their injuries returned to their jobs later than others. On average, worried employees spent an average of four weeks longer away from their jobs than others.
It’s important to know that if you’re injured on the job in Colorado, your job is not legally protected and your employer is not obligated by law to offer you a new position if you are as a result of your injuries physically unable to resume your previous duties.
It’s no wonder some people are concerned for their jobs, incomes and benefits after an injury; worried, too, for the families for which they provide.
That’s part of what makes workers’ comp so crucial: the stakes can be incredibly high.
It’s important to know, too, that in Colorado, if you’re hurt on the job, you qualify for workers’ comp. However, in some cases the full extent of the physical harm done to a person is not immediately clear. In some of those instances, employers might try to deny compensation claims.
People who believe they have had valid claims denied should not give up. Speak instead with an experienced attorney who can assess the facts and help you pursue full and fair compensation for valid claims.
Source: workerscompensation.com, “Eight New State-Specific Studies Note New Predictors,” July 18, 2014
