Getting and keeping Workers’ Comp benefits involves some requirements, which may require drug testing. While a failed drug test doesn’t necessarily kill your case, it can cause problems.
If you are tested for drugs after causing your initial accident, and you test positive, your employer can use that as evidence that your drug use caused your accident. However, they have to prove that before they can deny your benefits. Once you are receiving benefits, drug testing isn’t standard, though you may need to pass drug tests to return to work.
Call Cardamone Law’s Certified Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Lawyers for help with your case by dialing (267) 651-7945 today.
Do They Drug Test After a Work Accident?
Employers may drug test you after a work-related accident. This often happens for two reasons:
Company Policy
Your employer might simply test everyone who is involved in an accident to make sure that they were not drunk or on drugs at the time. This standard, across-the-board testing is not done at every company or in every industry.
Suspicious Accident
If the details of your accident cause your employer to suspect that drugs or alcohol were involved, they will almost certainly test you. At this point, failing a test may hurt your case, but that is not guaranteed.
Automatic Effects of Failing a Drug Test
Failing a drug test is not an automatic loss for your Workers’ Comp case. However, it can cause two major problems:
Suspicion
If you fail an employer’s drug test and it shows you may have been using drugs when the accident occurred, they will likely look into this further. Drawing this kind of suspicion might ultimately mean having your case denied, but the employer needs more proof first.
Firing
If you test positive for certain drugs, your employer might fire you. While they cannot fire you for filing a Workers’ Comp claim – that would be illegal retaliation – they can still fire you for drug use on the job.
What is Needed for Denial Based on Drug Use
The Workers’ Comp Act gives employers grounds to deny claims for drug or alcohol use, but there are requirements:
General Rule
Injured workers can still get compensation for accidents they caused themselves, but they cannot get benefits if they caused the accident…
- Intentionally
- Through illegal acts
- Through drug or alcohol use.
Because of this, drug testing is common, but it is not sufficient to stop a claim.
Impairment
Your employer must show that you were actually impaired by the drugs or alcohol you are accused of using at the time of the accident. If the amount in your system was not enough to actually negatively affect your work, then it cannot be used as grounds to deny your claim.
More tests might also be needed to pinpoint when the drugs were in your system. Testing positive three days after the accident, for example, might mean you used drugs after the accident, not before/during it.
Actual Causation
Your employer needs to show that the accident was actually caused by your drug use to deny your claim. The fact that you were on drugs is not enough to prove that that is what caused your accident.
Your accident might have resulted from someone else’s negligence or your own negligence. If we can prove an alternative cause – such as your carelessness or inattention – then it is harder to deny the claim.
Challenging Drug Tests
Our lawyers can challenge drug tests after the fact if they were performed inaccurately, they were tainted, or they were carried out by a biased lab. We can get our own tests done to show this conflict, when possible.
Testing methods might not be able to say when exactly the drug use happened, just that it happened in the past X number of days. This might even mean a positive test result actually shows post-accident drug use. In that case, our Pennsylvania Workers’ Comp lawyers can demand additional later tests to pinpoint or disprove when the drug use actually occurred.
FAQs for Drug Testing for Workers’ Comp in Pennsylvania
Do They Drug Test at the Hospital After a Work Accident?
Hospitals don’t usually drug test people who come in for care for the purpose of determining whether they are actually on drugs or not. However, they will sometimes test for certain substances that might interfere with their treatment, especially if you are unconscious or cannot list your medications for them.
Will My Employer Drug Test Me After an Accident?
Some companies drug test after any accident, while others will test you only if there is a suspicion that drug or alcohol use contributed to the accident.
Am I Allowed to Fail a Drug Test for Workers’ Comp?
Workers’ Comp does not require a drug test to get benefits, and whether you pass or fail is not an automatic issue for your case. A failed test could show that you might have been on drugs when the accident occurred, but even that is not enough to deny your benefits automatically.
Do I Need to Pass a Drug Test to Keep Workers’ Comp Benefits?
Periodic drug testing is not standard for Workers’ Comp.
Can They Fire Me for Failing a Drug Test if I’m on Workers’ Comp?
Employers cannot fire you for making a Workers’ Comp claim, but they can fire you for other reasons while you are on Workers’ Comp. If you tested positive for drugs that violate your employer’s policy, they can fire you on that basis.
Can Return to Work Be Denied Because of a Drug Test?
When you return to work as part of your Workers’ Comp claim, you might do so with the same company you worked for before or with a new company. Either way, some jobs will require standard drug testing, and failure can result in the job offer or placement being rescinded. This is especially common with CDL jobs and other jobs involving licensure or heavy machinery.
How Long After Drug Use Does a Drug Test Come Back Positive?
Depending on the testing method and the drugs they are looking for, drugs can be detected for quite some time. Urine tests usually can look back a few days, and blood tests can usually find metabolites of substances up to a few days after use. Hair tests can determine drugs up to around 90 days after use.
Do Prescription Drugs Count?
Some prescription drugs say you should not operate heavy machinery while using them. An accident while improperly using drugs might still be used against you, even if they are prescription drugs.
However, tests usually ignore your prescription drugs.
Call Our Workers’ Compensation Lawyers in Pennsylvania Today
Call (267) 651-7945 for a free case review with Cardamone Law’s Delaware County Workers’ Comp lawyers today.
