What Risks Are Involved if You Return to Work Early After Being Injured?

After sustaining a work-caused illness or injury, many employers request that their workers return as soon as possible. While this may be what they want, it will not be in an employee’s best interest to do this in some situations. 

Being injured on the job can be a stressful situation. You know you need to recover, but you also need to keep your job so you may push yourself to meet your employer’s requests. Unfortunately, if you are not careful, this can backfire. 

Reasons You Should Not Return to Work Early

If you go back to work too soon, it can lead to serious consequences. One of the biggest is that you re-injure yourself. 

You should not attempt to return to work until you have completely healed and are physically ready to do so. Going back before you are ready may cause you to hinder your recovery. Even if you feel good enough to return to work, be sure to follow the advice your doctor gives you. 

Another reason to avoid returning to work early is that doing so may impact your workers’ compensation benefits. You can only receive benefits while you are not working your typical hours. Once you return to your full-time position, you will not receive benefits. 

Even if you return to work early and discover you cannot handle the duties you once took on, you still cannot receive benefits. In some cases, this may even risk your job since you are unable to handle your job. 

Be Sure to Communicate with Your Employer 

As you recover from your work injury, you must stay in contact with your employer. Be sure you provide updates regarding your recovery process. You can also work with your supervisor or manager to know how you are feeling and what your doctor has said about your injuries and recovery. 

You let them know you want to return to work by staying in contact with your boss. If your doctor places medical restrictions on what you can do when you return to work, tell your employer to accommodate your needs. Once you know when you can return to work, talk to your employer to create a plan to help make the transition easy for you. 

What Happens if You Are Unable to Return to Work?

If your employer is pressuring you to return to work early, you need to understand that they cannot legally force you to do this before your doctor has cleared your return. Having an attorney help you at this point may be beneficial. 

Get Help from a Workers’ Compensation Attorney After you are injured at work, you should retain the services of a Florida workers’ compensation attorney. Your attorney can review the facts of your case and help you get the benefits you deserve. They can also ensure you are not pressured to return to work before your doctor clears you or before you are ready.