Last updated : December 16, 2024
Accidents on the job and Workers’ Compensation claims can be a huge expense for employers. If an employee is intoxicated at the time of the accident, the employer may have some legal defense against claims. Hiring an expert to handle post-accident drug testing is smart for a number of reasons.
Post-accident Drug Tests Protect Your Company
First and foremost, a drug testing expert will help protect your company from expense and liability in the event of an accident. Although the laws vary by state, employers generally have some defense against Workers’ Compensation claims if the employee was under the influence of a controlled substance or alcohol at the time of the accident. Furthermore, proving that the employee was impaired may offer you protection against lawsuits filed by any third-parties. Experts will handle the drug-testing process with care and professionalism, ensuring that the evidence is preserved and will hold up in any legal proceedings.
Post-accident Drug Tests Protect your Employees
Drug testing after an accident isn’t just good for you, it’s also good for your employees. An employee who gets into an accident will want to prove that they weren’t impaired. If they were sober, the drug test will give them evidence to help protect their right to compensation. If the employee was not sober, the drug test might be the final push to get them the help they need. Depending on the severity of the accident and your company policies, you may choose to require that the employee gets treatment for substance abuse rather than terminating employment. A professionally-conducted drug test will help ensure that any intoxicants are identified and that the situation is handled properly.
Drug Testing Encourages a Substance-free Workplace
Employees who know that they will be drug and alcohol tested in the event of an accident are less likely to come to work under the influence in the first place. A consistent drug testing policy is the best way to inform employees of your expectations regarding safety and sobriety. Also, if employees know that an expert drug testing service will be conducting thorough, rigorous tests, they will probably realize that falsifying results would be difficult. Knowing it will be hard to trick the test will further encourage employees to just stay sober.
Professional Drug-testing Services are Reliable
Hiring an expert to conduct drug tests is the best way to ensure reliable test results. An expert drug-testing service is unlikely to purposefully falsify or alter drug test results. If managers within your company are conducting drug tests, there’s a chance that they may be tempted to hide evidence of intoxication after an accident in order to protect employees. It’s natural for managers to become fond of employees and want to help them when they’re in difficult positions. But, asking those managers to conduct drug tests forces them to choose between their loyalty to the company and their loyalty to their employees. Utilizing expert drug-testing services helps avoid this predicament altogether. Not to mention, drug-testing experts are less likely to make accidental mistakes on drug tests that may lead to inaccurate results simply because they are experts. They have gained the knowledge to conduct testing accurately and produce reliable results. All of these factors help ensure that results for post-accident drug testing will be as reliable as possible.
Having a clear, consistent policy that dictates how drug testing will be handled in the event of an accident is important for the wellbeing of your business. Hiring an expert to conduct these tests will help protect both you and your employees, will encourage a substance-free workplace, and will help guarantee consistent results.
