Work Injury... Asked me for money back from Doctors fees

qwerty1991

Hi,

I just have an issue regarding a work place accident I had. The accident was minor enough but required 3 trips to the doctor. The first trip was immediately after the accident and I was accompanied by my manager who used work money to cover the doctors fees.

The manager then told me to bring in receipts for any further doctors appointments/ medicine I would need. I attended the doctor twice more due to the pain and being worried the injury was infected.

After the 2nd trip , the company reimbursed me for the visit. I handed in my receipt for the 3rd appointment and a month later (I had actually forgotton about being reimbursed at this stage) my manager called me to her office and stated that HR said they were not going cover my doctors appointments and along with not reimbursing me for the 3rd trip , she requested the money back for the 2nd trip and said if I didn't have it on me in cash, it would be docked from my wages.

On top of this, I was out of work for 2 days due to the injury and as I did not have any sick days left (according to the manager) I lost 2 days pay.

Is this allowed? It doesn't sound right.I handed over the money for the 2nd appointment in cash as I was just a bit shocked and kinda felt pressure to. Do I have a leg to stand on regarding getting reimbursed for these doctors appointments? It seems very unprofessional to tell me they will cover costs and then actually take the money back!

Youngblood.III

Was the accident due to employers fault? If so they should cover your costs.

Ask to see their policy on it....if they have none, they cannot make it up as they go along.

In fairness you'd think they'd have a bit if cop on here, it could have been worse for them (a claim)

Stheno

Youngblood.III wrote: »

Was the accident due to employers fault? If so they should cover your costs.

Ask to see their policy on it....if they have none, they cannot make it up as they go along.

In fairness you'd think they'd have a bit if cop on here, it could have been worse for them (a claim)

By covering the costs they are implicitly admitting liability in the case of a future claim

That was what a HR manager in a place I worked at told me was the reason costs wouldn't be covered

qwerty1991

The injury was caused when I was cleaning a room (my job) . I was clearing glass bottles. The first one I picked up (it was wet from drink... Normal enough ). It slipped and smashed on the table causing glass to bounce and cut my hand. I assume that counts as a work place injury or would it be deemed my fault?

qwerty1991

Stheno wrote: »

By covering the costs they are implicitly admitting liability in the case of a future claim

That was what a HR manager in a place I worked at told me was the reason costs wouldn't be covered

To respond.. they paid for the 1st doctors visit but refused for subsequent ones as described above. So it shouldn't be about liability because by paying for 1 it's enough to admit liability? (I would assume, unsure)!

Stheno

qwerty1991 wrote: »

The injury was caused when I was cleaning a room (my job) . I was clearing glass bottles. The first one I picked up (it was wet from drink... Normal enough ). It slipped and smashed on the table causing glass to bounce and cut my hand. I assume that counts as a work place injury or would it be deemed my fault?

It doesn't really matter whose fault it is, it matters if work pay for treatment or not

Stheno

qwerty1991 wrote: »

To respond.. they paid for the 1st doctors visit but refused for subsequent ones as described above. So it shouldn't be about liability because by paying for 1 it's enough to admit liability? (I would assume, unsure)!

But they are now saying the manager made a mistake by paying that first time and shouldn't have done it no?

qwerty1991

Stheno wrote: »

But they are now saying the manager made a mistake by paying that first time and shouldn't have done it no?

Yes it was a managers mistake. She said HR wouldn't cover it and now I am down 200 Euro and 2 days pay. Sorry I can see how my above post is unclear. Thanks for all replies so far!

Youngblood.III

qwerty1991 wrote: »

The injury was caused when I was cleaning a room (my job) . I was clearing glass bottles. The first one I picked up (it was wet from drink... Normal enough ). It slipped and smashed on the table causing glass to bounce and cut my hand. I assume that counts as a work place injury or would it be deemed my fault?

We're you trained for your job, were you supplied with gloves?

qwerty1991

Youngblood.III wrote: »

We're you trained for your job, were you supplied with gloves?

Yes I have been trained. We do have gloves but just plastic ones for cleaning . They wouldn't have prevented this injury. I had to have a tetnas injection as well which was not pleasant.

Stheno

qwerty1991 wrote: »

Yes it was a managers mistake. She said HR wouldn't cover it and now I am down 200 Euro and 2 days pay. Sorry I can see how my above post is unclear. Thanks for all replies so far!

There isn't much you can do sadly I'd a work based accident a few years ago and the medical fees went to about 3.5 thousand all of which I'd to pay myself

The company are not obliged to pay your medical expenses

Youngblood.III

qwerty1991 wrote: »

Yes I have been trained. We do have gloves but just plastic ones for cleaning . They wouldn't have prevented this injury. I had to have a tetnas injection as well which was not pleasant.

There are gloves out there that would be resistant to cuts more than plastic gloves(should be in PPE for this job)...imo you should be supplied with suitable PPE.

Ask to see the company safety statement.

Stheno

Op I'm on the phone so can't link. Google medical care scheme Ireland, you may be able to claim the medical expenses through that

Youngblood.III

Stheno wrote: »

There isn't much you can do sadly I'd a work based accident a few years ago and the medical fees went to about 3.5 thousand all of which I'd to pay myself

The company are not obliged to pay your medical expenses

And you didn't seek this back by other legal means??

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OP did your employers complete an incident form? If they didn't, make sure that they complete one. If your injury resulted in you being unable to perform your normal work for more than three consecutive days, the accident is also reportable to the health and safety authority. In the case of a work related injury, you can recoup the medical expenses back through the medical care scheme which is administered by the Department of Social Protection. You will need the receipts of the doctors visits in order to make a claim.

Stheno

Youngblood.III wrote: »

And you didn't seek this back by other legal means??

As in did I take a case to the injuries board? No as it was a complex scenario for a few different reasons. I did claim what I could via health insurance and tax

Youngblood.III

Stheno wrote: »

As in did I take a case to the injuries board? No as it was a complex scenario for a few different reasons. I did claim what I could via health insurance and tax

Ah....fair enough.

Stheno

Op for the medical care scheme you have to apply within six weeks of the accident

kirving

Not acceptable behavior whatsoever from the company in my opinion. They should have either re-reimbursed you fully for the doctor immediately, or arranged at the first visit that the doctor could invoice the company for all further visits.

Not acceptable to be forced t use your leave either.

If you work with bottles etc, there must be an expectation that you might get cut. It isn't always practical to wear gloves in a bar, etc. However, when you do inevitably get cut, the employer should cover all costs.