Opioid Testing: Preventing Accidents & Workers’ Comp Claims

If many other companies choose to follow in the footsteps of Jacobsen Construction Co. Inc., a Salt Lake City construction company, many accidents and potential workers’ comp claims may be prevented in the future.

Last year, the company developed a safety tool to help its 400 employees avoid accidents in the work place – opioid drug testing.

The safety manager of the construction company said that “it used to be everyone was concerned about illegal drugs, and now the ones we worry about are in people’s medicine cabinets.”

Many prescription and over the counter medications used daily or even for the common cold can make an individual drowsy, and produce other side effects that can affect their working habits.

The opioid drug testing program at the company was developed to keep impaired workers out of the hazardous work sites.

Jacobsen Construction Co. Inc. does pre-employment, random and post-accident testing to help prevent future construction accidents and to gather information after an accident has occurred.

Experts have been quoted on this method to say that opioid testing is becoming more common among employers and companies who are looking to increase job safety and reduce expenses of workers’ compensation for employers.

Other companies have found that avoiding one really serious claim by an impaired worker can pay for the entire drug testing program.

As many other health studies have noted, opioid use, even in prescription medications, has increased, with an approximate 95% increase in positive results for Oxycontin and approximately 45% increase in drugs and medication with hydrocodone, including Vicodin.

While studies have shown that these tests may be able to prevent some future accidents, it cannot guarantee that a person will not be injured while on the job. If you or someone you know has been injured at your place of employment, including a construction site, it is important for you to speak with a Raleigh workers’ compensation lawyer to find out your rights to file a claim.

Simply because a person is impaired or on a prescription medication due to an illness does not guarantee that a workers’ compensation claim will be denied; but to help prevent this from occurring, an injured individual should retain the resources of an attorney.

For more information, contact a Raleigh workers’ compensation lawyer today.