One way that employers and their workers’ compensation insurers may try to fight an employee’s claim is by alleging that they were under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs at the time of their accident. If they can show that an employee was impaired on the job and that contributed to their injuries, that employee can likely be denied workers’ comp benefits.
Just this year, a new law took effect that allows Ohio employers and their insurers to deny a claim if a “qualifying chemical test” shows an employee to have a blood alcohol level above the legal limit for driving (generally .08%) within eight hours after their injury. It also allows denial of a claim if a chemical test within 32 hours of the injury shows that an employee has a “controlled substance not prescribed by the employee’s physician” or other named medical professional or marijuana above the amount designated by law in their system.
Employees aren’t legally required to submit to a chemical test after suffering an injury. However, employers are required to provide notices “that the results of, or the employee’s refusal to submit to, any chemical test described under this division may affect the employee’s eligibility for compensation and benefits….”
The role of “rebuttable presumption” in the new law
It’s certainly possible that someone may have alcohol and/or non-prescribed drugs in their system when they’re injured at work, but those may not be the cause of an injury. For example, an injury could be caused by someone else’s negligence or simply a random mishap. However, the new law includes a “rebuttable presumption” that the alcohol and/or illicit drugs were the “proximate cause of an injury.” This means the employee would have to prove that the injuries weren’t caused by any impairment on their part.
Even if an employee can’t prove that something unrelated to alcohol or drugs led to their injuries, they may have other options for challenging a workers’ comp denial. For example, it may be possible that an appropriate type of test wasn’t used or that the results weren’t accurate.
The new law is certainly more likely to benefit employers and insurers than injured workers, since the responsibility falls to them to provide evidence to challenge the workers’ comp denial. Getting sound legal guidance can help Ohioans protect their rights.