When you are injured at work you will be rightly worried about what the future holds. Normally, you will want to get back to work and put it behind you. But, what happens if you are told you will not be taken back? Luckily there are laws that prevent this from happening most of the time, so you should contact a workers' compensation attorney right away. It is likely that the attorney will suggest filing a claim for retaliatory discharge. And in such a case, this will be your chance to show that you have been fired illegally or even that you have been demoted because you were injured at work.

Can you be fired?

You cannot lose your job because you file a workers' compensation claim. When you started work you should have been provided with a contract that would be signed by yourself and your employer. This will state the conditions under which you can be fired. Workers compensation is money that you will receive to cover the wages that you will lose and can also be provided to pay for some of the treatment that you may have had to pay for yourself.

Large companies versus small companies

When hoping to return to work after an injury, there could be a difference in the way that you are treated. A large company could have a range of suitable roles if you cannot return to your old position, but this may not be the case with a small one. Even an implied contract that is verbal and based upon company manuals may lead to you regaining your employment status.

Legal firing

There are, however, certain reasons in which you can be fired even after a work injury. They are: 

• The company needs for someone in a key role

• There is nothing in the company that the injured employee could do, and they are not capable of returning to their old job.

• Arranging a suitable new workspace would be an expense that the company could not deal with.

• Having been allocated a new position, performance is not acceptable.

Even in these situations, a workers' compensation attorney can still offer assistance.

After you are fired

If you have knowledge of the company and believe that you can carry out a role, then you should tell your workers' compensation attorney and see if they can get the company to agree to try you in this position.

For more information, contact a firm like Bennett  Law Firm PC.