Work related injury help

I recently fell of the boat at work onto the dock, (I am a biologist and I was taking sediment samples) and injured my back. I have to have an MRI performed because my doctor thinks that I herniated a disc or two, and now I am in tremendous pain, and my right leg keeps going numb on me.

My boss is treating me different and does not have work for me now, and I am nervous that I may loose my job. I missed 3 days because of the injury, and I have been doing everything that I can at work, but I am limited.

Can he fire me or lay me off?

Can he just decide that there is not enough work for me and ask me to not come in on certain days?

I have never had this happen and I want to cover all my bases. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

When I walked into my bosses office to turn in my workers comp. paper work, he fired me. After I handed him the paperwork he just stated oh, and acted like it never happened. Even in court he lied that he fired me.

In theory, he cannot fire you, but in non-tradition jobs like yours, it would be had to prove whether or not the work just slowed down or a form a discriminatory work slow down.

Your leg numbness is a sure sign of a nerve pinch in your lower back. I had L-5/S-1 surgery myself.

I would hire a workers comp. attorney immediately and this will offer your best chance of being treated fairly.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to see my profile and e-mail me.