Workers Compensation

Information you need to know about Workers Compensation cases

If you are injured on the job you should immediately report the injury to your employer.  If you fail to give timely notice of your injury this could give your employer a legal basis to deny your claim and avoid paying you workers’ compensation benefits. 

All employers in Tennessee that have 5 or more employees are required to carry Workers Compensation insurance.

ALL work related injuries are covered by Workers Compensation.  If the injury occurred as a result of your and/or during the course and scope of your employment, it is covered.  Any injury, whether sudden injury like a fall, or a gradual illness due to work related conditions such as lung disease, is covered by Workers Compensation.

An employee cannot be charged anything for Workers Compensation insurance.  The employer is responsible for covering its employees when an injury happens on the job.  Generally, a doctor should not bill or sue the inured employee for the cost of medical services.

Your employer is prohibited from terminating your employment because of a Worker’s Compensation injury.  If you are terminated because you filed a workers’ compensation claim, you have the right to file suit against your employer for what is known as retaliatory discharge and could be awarded substantial damages. 

Injuries that prohibit an employee from working are divided into several different categories.  How your injury is categorized will depend on several factors, such as the severity of the injury and the amount of work missed an employee.

The employer is required by law to provide you with a list of doctors to choose from.  It is in your best interest to contact an attorney before choosing a doctor.  Once you have selected a doctor you are required to comply with his treatment or your Worker’s Compensation benefits could be interrupted.  It is important to choose a doctor who treats you fairly and takes your injury as seriously as you do. 

Under Tennessee Workers Compensation law an employee that misses work for less than 14 days is not paid for the first 7 of these days.  Unless company policy states otherwise, an employer is not required to pay an employee for time that he or she uses for doctor’s appointments.

For more specific rules and regulations regarding Workers Compensation law in Tennessee please click here.

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