Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Lawyers Blog
We read an article in the Pennsylvania Record (pennrecord.com) last week about a Chester County woman who is suing her ex-employer for wrongful termination after she believes that she was fired following a slip and fall incident where she injured her foot leaving work.
The woman was leaving her work at the Brandywine Hospital in Coatesville in February of 2011 when she fell and fractured her right foot. From February until December of that year, she was either absent from work under the Workers’ Comp act or she worked with limitations. The employee underwent surgery in November of that year to repair her injury. Her surgeon signed a certification of healthcare form confirming that the injured employee would be incapacitated through January of 2012 because of her injuries and would be limited in any work activities that involved walking, standing, or lifting. A few weeks later, the hospital terminated the injured employee.
According to the article, the employee is now suing the hospital, claiming that she was fired because of her injury. The article notes that the employee feels the hospital is retaliating and interfering with her rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act. She is seeking to reinstate her job as well as restoring her leave and medical benefits and punitive damages.
When you are injured on the job, you have a right to receive medical treatment so that you can heal and have the opportunity to return to work. Workers’ comp and the Family and Medical Leave Act are there to protect workers and to help insure they have a job to go back to when they have recuperated from their injuries. We’ll be anxious to see the results of this case.