Workers’ compensation insurance is provided by most employers in each state by law. It protects thousands of employees each year who get sick or are hurt on the job. Workers’ comp is a safety net that protects workers from the financial disaster of being unable to work. It provides a portion of a worker’s lost wages and also pays for medical expenses. Business Profile: Tyson Foods Inc. Tyson Foods Inc., is one of the biggest household names in America. From pre-cooked chicken nuggets to raw chicken breasts to other processed foods, Tyson is one of the most recognized names from the poultry industry. They are headquartered in Springdale, Arkansas. They have other facilities scattered throughout the United States. As a chicken and beef processing plant, many workers are employed by their production line. They work on production lines and use equipment to package Tyson products. Tyson also hires truck drivers and even has an Environmental Health and Safety team in addition to their Food Safety team. Risks of Working at Tyson Foods Inc. The one thing we are always told to keep from getting salmonella at home is to be carefully to properly handle raw chicken. Improper equipment to handle raw chicken can expose workers to salmonella poisoning. Faulty conveyor belts on the production line can rip off fingers, hands, or arms if they have broken guards. Truck drivers can be involved in auto accidents. Drivers can also injure their backs or necks or experience repetitive stress injury from loading and unloading the products from their trucks. For office staff or staff on the Environmental or Food Safety teams, they can face a number of specific risks, too. Being exposed to chemicals or raw food can cause sickness. Being exposed to ammonia on a long term basis can cause burns to the lungs. Of course, all office workers who perform the same small motions over a long period of time are at risk of developing repetitive stress injuries. Hurt at Tyson Foods? Follow These Steps If you’re hurt or if you’re sick because of your work at Tyson Foods Inc., follow these four steps. Also, speak with your Human Resources or Safety Supervisor to file your workers’ comp claim. Fault is largely irrelevant, so don’t worry about whether you could have prevented your illness or injury. Let your manager know right away. Don’t wait until the end of your shift. This can help protect other people from being injured as well if it is something like faulty machinery or a spill. If you’re a truck driver for Tyson, first call 911 to report the accident. Then, contact your dispatcher. Some businesses set a time limit for this, which is usually a maximum of 7 days following the accident. If you for some reason have missed the deadline this may mean you may be given a difficult time affirming eligibility for WC. In fact, this could give Tyson’s the chance to deny your claim which will mean you will have to lodge an appeal. If you are not able to inform your supervisor get a relative to do it on your behalf and insist a copy is made of the report so it can’t be disputed later. Apart from your accident report it is important to gather all the evidence necessary to support your claim. Without this, your WC claim is likely to be denied Make sure that an accident report is filled out sooner rather than later. It is much easier to remember everything that led up to the incident the sooner you write it down. Your supervisor can help with this. If you’re bleeding and need stitches, have a severe injury, or if you’re a truck driver and involved in a wreck, call 911. The police will complete an informational report and provide you with the report number. You can get a copy of the report from the police at a later date. Get medical care even if you don’t feel like you’re seriously hurt. Sometimes, we can hurt our backs or necks and not realize how bad it really is without a doctor looking at it. If you’ve been exposed to ammonia and it hurts to breathe, call 911. Continuous moving of product or work can cause your injury to get worse. You can go to the emergency room if you need emergency medical assistance. For minor injuries, you can either see your own doctor or you can see the doctor that is listed on the workers’ comp policy. The doctor on the policy will see you without charging you any money. If you see your own doctor, you might have to pay out of your own pocket, but you can keep all of your receipts and get reimbursed. You should bear in mind that Tyson’s may have a dedicated medical team in your area that handles medical events like yours and you may not be allowed to choose even your own doctor. If you are not sure at the time of the accident you shouldn’t wait to find out but get to a medical room as soon as possible. You can negotiate with Tyson’s later on. Make an appointment with a workers’ comp attorney. Although Tyson Foods is required by law to provide workers’ comp, their rate can go up when people make claims. So, their insurance company will try to get you to settle your claim for much less than you need or deserve. Don’t let that happen to you. Talk to a workers’ comp attorney so that you can get the legal protection that you need. How to File a Workers’ Compensation Claim Against Tyson Tyson Foods employs hundreds of thousands of workers throughout the country, many of whom work on production lines at its chicken and beef processing plants. However, it also employs delivery truck workers to move its products to all the customers spread across the country. These sorts of jobs encounter many hazards which commonly cause injuries that are serious enough to take time off work to be treated. If this has happened to you it is important to follow the right process so that you are awarded a workers’ compensation settlement that you deserve. Because workers’ compensation is based on no fault as long as you weren’t under the influence of drugs or alcohol and you didn’t deliberately cause the accident to get time off work, you should be eligible for workers’ comp. Examples of Evidence That Can Be Used in a Tyson Foods WC Claim There are some important pieces of evidence that you will need to support your workers’ compensation claim. These include: a copy of your accident report handed to your supervisor; written reports from reliable eye witnesses; copies of receipts for any medical treatment including the ambulance fee; copies of invoices for unpaid medical treatment; your physician’s report with diagnosis and likely recovery time; photographs taken by you or a fellow employee of the accident scene and your injury; photographic evidence retrieved from Tyson’s surveillance cameras; a copy of your last wages stub for calculating lost wages. As soon as you have gathered all the evidence you should ensure you make copies of every document so that you can refer back if your WC claim is denied. Most workers’ compensation insurers look for mistakes in your evidence. The commonest reason for denying a claim is the proof doesn’t clearly support that your injury took place while you were at work. This may be down to what has been written in your eye witnesses’ reports. You should ensure you keep the contact details of your eye witnesses so you can call them to give evidence if your claim is denied and you need to lodge an appeal. Another common reason for a WC denial is failing to file your claim within the statute of limitations enforced by your state. This varies from state to state but if this deadline is missed you may have lost your chance for a workers’ compensation settlement, even if the evidence supports your claim and can’t be disputed. Cox V. Tyson Foods, Inc. According to Google Scholar, Delbert Cox worked for Tyson Foods where employees were allowed to leave the premises during their paid 15-minute breaks. Employees were also allowed to use a parking lot that Tyson did not own. One day, Mr. Cox was walking in that lot returning from his break after purchasing a breakfast sandwich and he slipped on the ice and hurt his back. Mr. Cox filed for workers’ compensation and hired an attorney. Tyson fought the case alleging that the accident did not actually occur on the job. The court found that because Tyson allowed employees to leave the premises on their paid breaks and because they had an agreement for employees to use the parking lot that Tyson did not own, that Tyson was responsible for Mr. Cox’s injury. Protect Yourself It is important that you get help from an experienced workers’ compensation attorney. You need to make sure that you are treated fairly and given the compensation for your injuries that you deserve. You could be entitled to on-going medical payments. Talk to an attorney and find out if your injury or sickness qualifies. *The content of this article serves only to provide information and should not be construed as legal advice. If you file a claim against Tyson Foods, you may not be entitled to any compensation.
