The Employer’s Legal Advisor

The Accident-Prone and Workers Compensation Claimants

Workers compensation claims are the bane of every employer. Most companies have established protocols for dealing with injured employees, protocols that should be followed. Be aware that a retaliation suit may result if at some later time you have to discipline or discharge an employee who filed a workers compensation claim. The most vulnerable times are within a few months of the injury or while a claim is being litigated.

There are certain fundamental things that you should not do to minimize the risk of litigation:

• Do not criticize the employee directly because of her injury or make remarks to others about the injury unless criticism is warranted because of some safety violation.

• If a safety ...