Accident Prone Employee

jscheidter · October 2003

We have an employee who always seems to trip over something at work and hurt himself. He files a claim, gets a doctor's note, takes time off and then comes back to work. The next thing we know, he's slipped in the bathroom (no witnesses) and strains a rib. The process starts all over again! What can we do? I know it is illegal to fire him because he has filed a workers' comp. claim, but I'm trying to find a away to get rid of him. Can I fire him because he is missing a lot of work?

Margaret Morford · October 2003

Have you considered issuing the employee corrective action for unsafe work conduct? You may find this stuff stops when he/she gets discipline for not working carefully. On the corrective action, I would detail the injuries and dates and state that the employee is clearly working in a careless manner with reckless disregard for his own safety and well being. Because I don't know what state you are in and those state laws, I recommend that you review this sitaution and the written corrective action with an employment attorney before you issue it to your employee.

Margaret Morford
theHRedge
615-371-8200
[email]mmorford@mleesmith.com[/email]
[url]http://www.thehredge.net[/url]

Safety Witch · October 2003

This is not uncommon for frequent flyers. Document everything! If you have a policy that safety is a condition of employment and he is clearly showing he is not working safely, use your discipline policy for these safety violations. If safety isn't written into your discipline policy, add it and make sure all employees are trained on it.

Is your company self-funded or state-funded? Self-insured employers can request a nurse case manager to do a home visit. Putting more emphasize on the claim process and making it as difficult as possible sometimes discourages employees from filing frivolous claims.

Another tactic would be to request a PCE (through the claim) after a professional job analysis is done. This will help you determine if he is physically capable of performing the job duties.

If your group medical benefits include a nurse hotline, call a nurse after the injury and prior to him seeking a medical provider. Sometimes all the employee needs is some TLC and attention. Recommending self-care (if appropriate)may accomplish the need for attention.

Work with the medical provider and let him know you have a light duty program. Find out what the injured employee is capable of doing and then present some options for the doctor to approve. When an employee doesn't get to stay home for a few days and have to do a light duty job they don't want to do helps the healing process! Make sure to go with your employee to the medical provider as a concerned employer. Let the doctor know you have a light duty program and are willing to do anything you can to keep him at work.

I know I have given you a lot of different ideas, but I have used them at one time or another rather successfully.

Good luck.

Accident Prone Employee

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