How Accusations of Drinking on the Job Can Affect Your Workers’ Compensation Benefits

Workers’ compensation benefits are reserved for workers who experience an injury while on the job. In 2012, there were amendments to Mississippi’s workers’ compensation laws that prevented employees from receiving benefits under certain circumstances. One of the exclusions includes if the proximate cause of the employee’s injury was the use of illegal drugs or intoxication. If it is proven that the cause of the employee’s injury was the use of drugs or alcohol, the employee can be barred from receiving workers’ compensation benefits.

What if you happen to be involved in an alcohol-related workplace accident? Or what if you are accused of being drunk or impaired when you got hurt? The Mississippi workers’ compensation attorneys at Merkel & Cocke, PA, answer these questions and more in today’s blog.

How will employers try to prove the cause of my work-related injury?

The amendments to the Mississippi workers’ comp laws allow employers to either administer a drug and alcohol test to you, or require you to submit to a drug and alcohol test. If you submit to an alcohol test and a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level of 0.08 is discovered in your system, it will be assumed that alcohol was the proximate cause of your injury.

You have the right to refuse a drug and alcohol test; however, your employer will assume that you are guilty of using drugs or alcohol at the time of the accident. However, that does not mean that the matter is entirely settled.

Proving that intoxication was not the proximate cause of a workplace injury

It is true that if you refuse to submit to an alcohol test, your employer will assume that alcohol was the proximate cause of your work-related injury. However, your attorney can use the fact that you did not submit to an alcohol test to your advantage.

Because there is no irrefutable proof that you were intoxicated at the time of the workplace accident, the burden of proof is on you and your attorney to prove that alcohol was not the proximate cause of your accident.

Am I even entitled to receive workers’ compensation benefits?

When employees are injured at the workplace, they are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits that are responsible for medical wages and lost wages in the event of an injury. Employees are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits because workers’ compensation is a no-fault system that employees can take advantage of while injured.

A no-fault system means that regardless of what or who caused the employee’s injury, the employee is entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. Still, employers and their insurance agencies can deny your workers’ compensation claim for several reasons.

Why was my workers’ compensation claim denied?

Some other common reasons why an employer could refuse your workers’ compensation claim include your worker classification. Unbeknownst to you, your employer could have misclassified you as an independent contractor, meaning that you are not under the control of an employer and responsible for your own workers’ compensation benefits. Another common reason involves the timing in which the claim was submitted. Either you or your employer failed to submit your workers’ compensation claim on time.

Another reason involves the allegation from your employer that the injury did not occur at the workplace. The employer could argue that the injury you sustained did not occur at the workplace in an effort to get out of paying workers’ compensation benefits. One serious allegation that employers can make against you that can result in denied benefits includes the allegation that you were intoxicated at the time of the workplace accident. If employers can prove that this allegation was true, it can mean an automatic loss of your workers’ compensation benefits in some cases.

What can I do if my workers’ compensation claim is denied?

You can always reach out to an experienced attorney to appeal your employer’s original decision. Denial of workers’ compensation claims is typically normal, as many employers expect employees to accept the initial decision and not appeal. Even if you submitted to an alcohol test and were deemed to be intoxicated at the time of the workplace accident, it does not mean that your intoxication caused your injury. An experienced attorney can argue on your behalf that your workplace injury was due to the negligence of your employer.

If you believe that you have been wrongfully denied workers’ compensation benefits, our firm can help you receive the compensation you deserve. Rely on the lawyers of Merkel & Cocke to secure compensation for your work-related injuries. From our offices in Jackson, Clarksdale, Greenville, and Oxford, we also serve injured clients throughout Mississippi. Call us at 662-627-9641, or complete a contact form to schedule a free consultation.