Briggs v. DPV Transportation, Inc.

**Briggs v. DPV Transportation: Worker Wins Right to Disability Benefits After Injury** This case involved a worker who was injured on the job and then fired after a required drug test revealed he had used drugs before the injury occurred. The employer argued that because the worker was terminated for pre-existing drug use, he had voluntarily abandoned his job and shouldn't receive workers' compensation benefits. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled in favor of the worker. The court decided that even though the employee was fired for drug use that happened before his workplace injury, this termination did not count as "voluntary abandonment" of his job. Therefore, the worker was entitled to receive temporary total disability (TTD) benefits while recovering from his work-related injury. This ruling matters significantly for injured workers. It establishes that employers cannot use pre-injury conduct discovered after a workplace accident to deny workers' compensation benefits. Even if you're fired following a workplace injury, you may still be entitled to disability benefits if the termination was based on something unrelated to voluntarily quitting your job. The decision protects workers from losing compensation they've earned through workplace injuries, regardless of other employment issues that surface afterward.