Q: my son was hurt at work, did drug test, failed. Requested new drug test but got fired before results which were clean.
The whole workers comp case was a 2 hour ordeal of the boss not doing anything. It wasn't until I went up there to get him to the ER that she finally acknowledged him. Meanwhile he was bleeding from deep cuts and all she wanted him to do was clean up blood. I had to go to work so They finally sent him alone to drive to urgent care. After 2 more hours they do a urine test and he can only use one had. The other was not cleaned up yet. His test was positive. He requested a new test and they agreed. Then he was fired before results came back. That test was clean. right now we just want to know what the options are in Texas. His workers comp case manager took all the info regarding the negligence on the boss also including the urgent care fiasco.
A: If your drug screen test comes back positive, you might want to get another test on your own immediately. A positive drug screen creates a presumption of "intoxication". You must overcome this presumption. If you are not able to overcome the presumption, then you are not entitled to workers' compensation benefits. Your employer doesn't have a legal obligation to provide your son with medical treatment. I don't see a real claim there even though they didn't treat him fairly. If the drug screen is positive, he could be legally fired. This may be true even if you have a negative test that follows. You might want to ask an employment law attorney about your rights with respect to wrongful termination. You need to know if your employer is a subscriber to workers' compensation or if they do not have a policy of workers' compensation (non-subscriber). Your employer may have an occupational injury plan. If you have private health insurance, you could also use that until things get sorted out.
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