“Should I file a claim even if I failed my employer’s drug screen?”
“Can my employer really fire me?”
Yes you should file a workers compensation claim in Mississippi even if you failed your employer’s drug screen and yes they can also really fire you. An employer in Mississippi has the legal right to contemporaneously drug test an injured employee after an injury sustained on the job, and also has the legal right to terminate an employee that fails that drug test.
This does not mean an injured worker who fails a drug screen is not entitled to Workers’ Compensation benefits in Mississippi, but it does mean you can be fired and have to fight for those benefits. Benefits will not be due until an injured worker rebuts the statutory presumption that the alcohol, illegal substance(s), or the use of a valid prescription medication(s) taken contrary to the prescriber’s instructions and/or contrary to label warnings was the proximate cause of the injury. Many times the injury was caused by something or someone completely out of the control of the injured worker.
Positive drug screens do not completely destroy your rights, but a positive drug screen essentially forces an injured worker to hire an attorney to develop the facts and determine whether the presumption of intoxication/use of drugs is rebuttable, or not. An experienced Mississippi workers’ compensation attorney can rebut the automatic presumption of proximate cause, especially when trace amounts of non-active substances are the only thing found in a drug screen.
Consultations are free, our attorneys have seen many injured workers recover their rights despite a positive drug screen. Don’t be embarrassed, don’t give up, give us a call. Confidentiality is a law all attorneys must follow. If you or a loved one have been injured at work in Mississippi, contact our workers compensation attorneys today. We are ready and available to help you obtain the recovery you deserve. Call or text us at 601-948-8005 or use our live chat on our website.
