Can You File a Workers’ Comp Claim After Being Laid Off?

• Oct 22, 2024
• Blog
• Michael Burgis & Associates, P.C

If you’re an employee doing repetitive work, like a cashier standing on cement floors or someone doing data entry, and you experience back pain or carpal tunnel, these are valid worker’s comp claims.

During mass layoffs, a post-termination defense may block claims if you file after learning about the layoff. However, if you reported or treated the injury before knowing about the termination, your claim can still be valid.

Another way around this defense is through cumulative trauma injuries, which develop over time from repetitive tasks. Even if you’re laid off, you may still be entitled to compensation.

If you have questions about your workers’ compensation claim, please reach out. We’re here to help.

Transcript: 

Hi, I’m Michael Burgis of Michael Burgis and Associates. I made a video about mass layoffs and workers’ comp rights, but I wanted to go into a little bit more detail on that because I’m getting a lot of questions on this.

Valid Workers’ Comp Claims

First off, if you’re an employee and you’re doing a repetitive job like a cashier at a 99 Cents Store or working as a cashier at Rite Aid and you’re on cement floor or tile all day long, full time, and you have back pain or carpal tunnel or cubital tunnel from repetitive data entry, these are all valid worker’s comp claims.

Layoffs and Post-Termination Defense

And if there’s a mass layoff, what happens is it creates something called a post-termination defense. And most injured workers think they’re not entitled to any benefits. Let me explain what a post-termination defense is. And let me tell you that there are ways to get around it.

First, if an employee has knowledge that they’re being terminated or laid off and they subsequently file a workers’ comp claim, there is a defense to that claim. It’s called a post-termination defense. And if they can establish that they had knowledge of termination prior to the filing of a claim, it does bar the claim and the claim can be validly denied.

Reported Injuries Prior to Learning About Layoffs

However, there are ways to get around this. The first thing is if an injured worker has reported these injuries prior to knowledge of being terminated or laid off. If an injured worker has reported these symptoms prior, that is an exception to that defense and you can get around it.

Treated for Injuries Prior to Learning About Layoffs

The other exception is if you’re actually treated by a doctor or a medical office for those injuries prior to receiving knowledge of termination. What the law really says is, “Wait a minute, this is a credible injury. You aren’t filing this because you’re upset, you’re being terminated. You reported it or you treated prior to knowledge.” Those are ways to get around that defense.

Cumulative Trauma: Work Injuries that Built Up Over Time

But there’s a third exception that most people don’t know about and don’t educate their clients on. And this is really how we can get around a mass layoff and a post-termination defense. And it’s something called a cumulative trauma. There are two types of injuries in worker’s comp. One is a specific injury, like a slip and fall on a specific day. The other is something called a cumulative trauma.

And this is just a result of repetitive job duties over time. Again, my example is a cashier, a loader/unloader, or standing on your feet all day long on tile or cement. These are legitimate injuries.

And if you’ve had knowledge that you’re going to be terminated or laid off, that doesn’t mean that you don’t have a viable claim and you could be entitled to substantial compensation.

Contact MB&A If You’ve Been Laid Off but Want to File a Workers’ Comp Claim

If you have any questions or concerns, please give us a call. Our office is standing by. If you found that this video was helpful, please like and subscribe as we put out lots of content. But let me just tell you that you have rights, and if you have questions as to what your benefits are, we’re here standing by. And I look forward to representing you.