Workers’ compensation is a no-fault insurance program paid by Atlanta employers, providing compensation to workers who are injured on the job or suffer a job-related illness.
If you were drunk or using illegal drugs at work or your injuries are self-inflicted, your workers’ compensation case can definitely be affected, but it does not automatically disqualify your benefits.
Positive Drug Tests
After you suffer an occupational injury in Atlanta, your employer may require you to take a drug test to determine whether drugs or alcohol played a role in your accident. If you have a positive drug test, your employer can use that against you and argue that you were impaired and caused the accident. But even if a drug test is performed immediately after an accident, the results do not necessarily prove that drugs were in your system at the time of the accident (although a positive alcohol tests immediately after the accident will probably disqualify your claim).
For example, if you smoked marijuana the week prior to your accident, the substance is probably still in your system and you could have a positive drug test. Your employer will have to prove that the marijuana was the cause of the accident.
If you were denied workers’ compensation benefits in the Atlanta area because you were drunk or using drugs on the job, you may still qualify for benefits, depending on your situation. Please contact the Atlanta workers’ compensation attorney at Robbins & Associates, PC today to discuss your claim.