Injured Employee Tested Positive for Pot: Can He Get Workers’ Comp?

It’s not a given that employees who test positive for pot use will have workers’ comp benefits denied. What was the deciding factor in this case?

Michael Trent worked for Stark Metal Sales in Ohio. On June 30, 2011, Trent was injured at work when a large piece of steel fell on his legs.

Nursing notes from the hospital say when he was told that he had to give a urine sample, Trent said he couldn’t because he had done so before the injury occurred.

A urine screen was performed a week later, and Trent tested positive for marijuana metabolite.

Trent filed for workers’ comp benefits. The Ohio Industrial Commission approved his claim. Stark appealed, and a trial was held in a common pleas court.

Stark wanted to present testimony that, on the day he was injured, Trent told another employee he wouldn’t be able to pass a drug test.

The judge decided not to allow that testimony.

During cross-examination by Stark’s lawyer – testimony the jury didn’t hear – Trent said before he was taken to the hospital, he did tell a co-worker he couldn’t pass the urine test because he had smoked marijuana and believed it would still be in his system. He admitted he didn’t comply with Stark’s drug-free workplace rule, but he said it had been about two weeks before his injury that he last used pot.

The trial court upheld the decision to award comp benefits to Trent. Stark then went to the Ohio Court of Appeals.

Read Full Article At Safetynewsalert.com

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