After a workplace accident leaves you injured, your employer may ask you to take a drug or alcohol test – usually before you’ve even had much time to process what just happened. You may be in pain, worried about your future and unclear why the test is even needed.
You can decline to take the test, but that can make it much harder to obtain much-needed workers’ compensation benefits. The law treats an unjustified refusal very harshly.
How can refusing a test affect your workers’ comp claim
In essence, Georgia law says that if you get injured on the job and you refuse a reliable, scientific drug or alcohol test that is properly conducted, there is an automatic (but rebuttable) presumption that alcohol, marijuana or some other illicit drug use caused the accident and injury.
Your employer and their insurer can then use that presumption to say that you are the victim of your own willful misconduct, and they are not responsible for your medical care, lost wages or anything else.
What if you had a good reason for not submitting to the test, however? For example, you can hardly be expected to give your consent if you were knocked unconscious or so disoriented you couldn’t understand what was being asked of you. Sometimes, situations even arise where a worker who is injured but ambulatory will actually agree to the test but gets sent to the wrong testing facility or the test is never arranged.
It is important to remember that the accuracy of a positive test result can be challenged, as can the presumption that drug or alcohol use caused your accident. It may be easier to overcome a positive test result than one that was never taken. Whatever your situation, seeking legal guidance as quickly as possible is essential if you want to protect your workers’ comp claim.