View Summary
EDGAR E. COCKEY, Employee
vs.
HENKEL & McCOY and LIBERTY MUTUAL INSURANCE CO., Employer/Carrier.
Click Here to Read the Full Case Summary
Issues:
Workers' compensation, post accident testing, policy and procedure, employer liability, refusal.
Case Summary:
Edgar Cockey, an employee of Henkel & McCoy, was injured in a work-related accident. The company's policy required a post-accident drug test for all work-related injuries. Cockey provided a urine sample as required by the company but refused to submit to a blood test. Cockey said he feared he might contract the AIDS virus through the needle used to draw a blood sample. Cockey subsequently applied for workers' compensation benefits. His employer contested the benefits claim on the grounds that Cockey refused to provide a blood sample.
Decision of lower jurisdiction:
This is the first administrative review of this case.
Outcome:
Cockey wins. A Compensation Claims Judge for the Florida Department of Labor and Employment Security awarded workers' compensation benefits. The judge ruled that Henkel & McCoy did not that demonstrate that Cockey refused to cooperate with the post-accident testing requirement.