Many workers are shocked when their employer demands that they take a drug test after an accident. The worker is injured, confused, and in pain. They are worried about their financial future since their injuries seem serious enough to keep them out of work. Yet, their employer wants a urine sample, and they want it now.
Ball, Kirk & Holm, P.C., is a prominent workers’ compensation law firm serving Iowa workers. We have helped injured workers navigate the claims process and receive benefits for medical care and lost wages. Call us today to schedule a consultation with one of our lawyers. We are always available 24/7 for our clients and eager to help in any way we can. Below, our Cedar Falls workers’ compensation lawyer reviews the legality of post-accident drug tests.
Can An Employer Require a Drug Test after a Workplace Accident?
Yes. Although Iowa’s law is confusing, private employers can generally require that you undergo drug testing at work, consistent with Iowa Code § 730.5. The law does not require drug testing. But it lays out the requirements and procedures if an employer wants to test.
Employers can perform unannounced drug tests and whenever they have reasonable suspicion of intoxication. The law also explicitly states an employer can require a drug test as part of an investigation into certain on-the-job accidents.
That means your employer can probably request a drug test if you are hurt in an accident while working. This might happen at the on-site medical clinic, or the employer might reach out to you to come back into work to perform the test.
Intoxication Might Bar Workers’ Compensation Benefits
Employers usually drug test to protect themselves legally. If you crashed the company van into a group of people, your employer wants to know whether you were drunk. They also want to use this evidence to deny you workers’ compensation benefits.
Under Section 85.16, no compensation is paid to a worker for an injury caused by their intoxication. Alcohol, narcotics, and other drugs are covered, including common prescriptions, unless a doctor wrote a script.
Furthermore, if you have a positive test immediately after the injury, the law presumes two things:
1. You were intoxicated at the time of the accident, and
2. Your intoxication was a substantial factor which led to your injury.
Those facts will prevent you from receiving benefits. Although workers’ compensation benefits are generally no-fault, there are exceptions. And a big one is any accident caused by intoxication.
Suppose you were injured in a fall from the roof at a jobsite. Your employer immediately requests a urine test, which shows the presence of alcohol. Because of this positive test result, you will be denied benefits because the law presumes you were intoxicated when you fell and your intoxication was a substantial reason for your injuries.
Workers Can Fight Back
Helpfully, a worker can still try to get benefits despite the positive drug test. The burden shifts to the worker to show they either weren’t intoxicated at the time of the accident or the intoxication was not a substantial factor. It’s a tough burden to meet, but some workers are successful if they hire the right law firm.
For example, you might have drunk alcohol or consumed drugs after the accident but before you received medical treatment. That would rebut the presumption that you were intoxicated during the accident.
Alternatively, you might have had some drugs or alcohol in your system, but they did not impact your performance. Imagine if a worker is driving on the job and has a small amount of alcohol in their system. A dangerous, distracted driver rear-ends them while waiting at a red light. Although the worker had a couple sips of beer, the alcohol did not lead to the accident. For those reasons, the worker should receive benefits.
Injured workers must respond quickly to any allegation they were drunk or high at the time of the accident. Fail to respond and you could lose critical benefits.
Also, your job could be on the line. Many employers have a “zero tolerance” policy when it comes to drugs. If the test comes back positive, they might fire you from the job.
How We Help Injured Workers
Share with your lawyer the identity of any witnesses. A colleague might have been in the car with you when you were struck. Or someone else at work saw you get injured in an accident. They can back up your claim that drugs or alcohol were not substantial factors in your injuries.
Also be honest if you did drugs or alcohol after the accident but before you were tested. Some workers are not tested for a day. We need to recreate the timeline of the accident and the immediate aftermath.
Increasingly, employers are searching for any reason to cut costs, and denying workers’ compensation claims is one way to do that. For every approved claim, an employer’s insurance rates will spike. Instead of helping injured workers get the benefits they need, too many employers are hoping to get worker claims denied. They will share the negative test result with their workers’ comp insurer, and then you will watch your claim get denied.
Do not give up hope. Our firm might be able to help. We want to learn more about the accident and what happened next to better analyze the legal claims you might make.
Call Ball, Kirk & Holm to Set Up a Consultation
Thousands of workers are injured on the job each year, and workers’ comp benefits are supposed to help them land on their feet by paying for medical care and replacing some lost wages. If your claim was denied, we want to know more.
Call Ball Kirk & Holm to speak with a Cedar Falls workers’ compensation lawyer. We can discuss your claim, along with the positive drug test results. Then we can review whether you have a strong argument to make that you nonetheless deserve benefits.