If you suffered a serious injury on the job, your doctor may recommend
time off from work duties until you make a full recovery. While being
hurt isn’t something to celebrate, you may enjoy being away from
the daily grind for a while.
However, it is not uncommon for injured employees to return to work early
because they are either getting bored at home or afraid to lose their
job if more time elapses. Even though the main goal is to return to the
workplace as soon as you have healed, it is never a good idea to go back
to work until your doctor gives you permission.
Here are several reasons why you shouldn’t return to work early after
sustaining an on-the-job injury:
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You could further injury yourself – There is a reason why your doctor determined a timeline of your
return is because your body will be ready to return to work following
a workplace injury. Even if you start feeling better sooner than anticipated,
your injuries have yet to completely heal. If you re-injure yourself,
not only could it take you even longer to recover, but you could also
put your worker’s compensation benefits in jeopardy.
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You could lose your workers’ compensation benefits – Your employer’s insurance company is only looking out for
its own best interests, which means adjusters will find any way to deny
your claim or pay you as little money as possible. If you return to work
early on your own free will, the insurer may determine that your injury
wasn’t as serious as you originally claimed, or you weren’t
injured at all.
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Your job is secure – As we mentioned earlier, many people return to work early because
of the fear of losing their job or their employer says so. However, employers
are prohibited from asking injured employees to return to work or threaten
you into coming in ahead of your recovery timeline. Furthermore, your
employer is not allowed to permanently give your position to someone else
or terminate you for not coming into work earlier than expected. If any
one of these situations has happened to you, you must speak with an attorney
immediately.
If you have suffered a serious
workplace injury in Texas,
contact our Fort Worth workers’ compensation attorney at the
Law Office of James M. Stanley and schedule a free consultation today.