When it is a lower back injury at work, is blood drug testing relevant as a denial for claim if tests positive for cocain?

Will it affect the workers comp claim? Probably not. Could he be fired for having cocaine in his blood? Yes.

Yes, you need to meet with an experienced workers' comp attorney.

Can it affect your WC claim? Yes it can lower your recovery depending upon whether or not the drug and alcohol provisions added to the WC laws in 2005 apply. It can also be a basis for discharge as well as a denial of unemployment benefits if the employer has a drug and alcohol policy.

You are likely going to face a total denial of the claim, or a strenuous defense, given that there is a positive test for cocaine. In order for the Employer and its insurer to prevail, they must demonstrate that the injured worker "failed to obey any rule or policy adopted by the Employer relating to a drug-free workplace or the use of alcohol or nonprescribed controlled drugs in the workplace." If this rule/policy was known by the injured worker and he nonetheless violated it, §287.120.6(1), benefits SHALL be reduced by 50%. If the use of the cocaine was the PROXIMATE CAUSE of the back injury, it is a total forfeiture of all benefits. Chances are as well, given that the injured worker had a nearly identical injury to the same part of the body that had only recently healed, there will be a huge question whether the new injury pushing the concrete bench, was the prevailing factor of any new injuries and disabilities. You will need to locate an attorney to help in this matter, but were this to have come across my desk, I would decline representation, given the cocaine usage and the fight over whether this is merely an aggravation of the old back injury and proving that the new accident was the prevailing factor of the alleged injuries and disabilities.