Son fired 2 days after work related accident...

As the title says, my son has been notified, via letter (today), that he has been fired following a work related accident (I can't go into it here, but it involves workers compensation). There is no reason stated in the letter. The letter states that it was effective 2 days after the accident.

He was taken to the ER so he has a copy of "reason" he had to be taken...in other words, admittance by the company that it WAS a work related accident. It happened about 2 weeks ago.

We have never dealt with workers compensation and so I'm wondering if this is normal procedure so that unemployment insurance pays for the time he was off before he was cleared by the doctor to return to work.

Or if I should think about hiring a lawyer.

I would say at least get a consultation with a lawyer. There could be a few problems with the termination legally, but only a lawyer would really be able to say. For instance, if he was at fault for the accident versus they were at fault for it... if he was at fault, the termination could stand on safety concerns. If they were, it's questionable... the timing is odd, imo. I have never heard of termination for the purpose of unemployment insurance covering it. I actually think it falls into FMLA at that point, which would mean that he can't be terminated simply because he is injured and can't work. FMLA is government protection. So I would definitely say, consider a lawyer, but also try to see if there is one that would do contingency, meaning they get paid when you do. If you don't win, they don't get paid.

Hope it works out,
Puck

Get a lawyer and DON'T settle for money. You want all medical care taken care of for as long as he is affected by this work related injury. If you settle for money, they will put a time limit on the medical coverage which can be a big mistake down the road if there are any long-term problems.