Can I be denied and forced to pay back temporary disability payments?

Question

Injured my shoulder and had to have surgery. before the operation I was put on modified duty restricting my use of my left arm. I am a journeyman for a construction company and was taken from the field making $35.00 an hour and put in the yard to do miscellaneous yard duties making $15.00 an hour. for almost two months I was given the opportunity to clock out from work and end my day when all feasible work I could do was completed. my week hours were cut almost in half from 40+ to 19+ hours. the owners daughter was given information by another company owner and called my claims adjuster and told them that I was not showing up or calling in and was refusing the modified work that her company was providing me. in doing this I received a letter in the mail that I no longer was eligible for benefits and I was ordered to pay back almost 5,000 dollars in over payments. now they want to settle and take the five grand off the top of the settlement. anything I can do, besides a new lawyer?

Answer 1

It is not uncommon for WC carriers to overpay disability and then recoup the overpayment.  As far as whether the WC carrier is getting correct information from your employer, that is a separate issue.

Answer 2

You never said if you hurt yourself at work.

In Canada, if you hurt yourself at work you can be given modified or light duty work as per WCB requirements. In no case can you be denied less that what you were making before. If the company can't provide this light duty work, you would be off work on benifits and get 80% of you normal weekly pay tax free.

Reading your storey, you must be in the USA. If you are in Canada visit your local WCB office and tell them this storey. This just can't happen here in Canada.!!

Answer 3

Do you have pay stubs showing the hours you worked?  Does the company have time sheet records and payroll records you can subpoena?

Answer 4

DISABILITY and WORKERS COMP are two different things.

So are you talking about a disability claim, or workers comp?  Sounds like WC.

Yes, if you refuse modified duty, that's called, not cooperating, and it can cancel the claim.  If you accept it, workers comp still has to pay you 70% of the DIFFERENCE in pay, until you're released to regular duty.

Before offering 30% to a lawyer, why don't you call the adjuster, and tell them you WERE doing the modified duty, and you clocked out when you were told to.  It seems to me there is a lack of communication here.