Common Misconceptions Related to Suing an Employer for Injuries
Interviewer: What are the common misconceptions people have when they call the office in order to see if they have a case?
Stephen Boutros: Many people are fearful of bringing a lawsuit for fear that there’ll be repercussions against them throughout the industry. They are concerned that they won’t be able to get work, they’re going to lose their job, or they’re going to get fired. For the most part, you can’t be fired for making a Workers Comp claim.
People have to secure their legal rights. A lot of times, companies will act like they want to take care of the employee immediately following a workplace injury. What that’s intended to do is dissuade the employee from pursuing their legal rights, but the moment that a statute passes or the second that the employer feels like they’re out of lawsuit range, then they’ll dump that employee. They’ll dump that employee in a second.
Interviewer: Are there laws that address when a company retaliates against an employee because they filed a claim?
Stephen Boutros: Employees have some statutory protection. You cannot be fired for making a Workers Comp claim. You can be fired for other reasons and again, there are lots of exceptions to it. Our firm does not handle wrongful termination cases or retaliation cases.
Interviewer: When’s the Statute of Limitations for making a claim?
Stephen Boutros: Two years.