Pre-Existing Conditions
Workers’ Compensation benefits provide compensation to workers that are injured on the job. While most claims are approved, some are initially denied, especially for workers with pre-existing conditions. An experienced Workers’ Compensation lawyer can help you claim the benefits you deserve, even if you are initially denied.
A pre-existing condition may make an employee more vulnerable to suffer a work-related injury, but this is not a valid reason for a denial of benefits.
An employer cannot deny Workers’ Compensation benefits unless they can prove that the injury was unrelated to the employee’s job duties or work environment. Even when a workplace injury is due, in part, to a pre-existing condition, such as brittle bone disease, diabetes, or a hearing impairment, the employee is entitled to Workers’ Compensation benefits.
One example of this type of claim is a hearing-impaired construction worker that gets struck by a moving vehicle. Even though a worker with normal hearing could have avoided the injury by hearing the vehicle approaching or been alerted by the sound of its horn, the hearing-impaired worker was still injured on the job. An employer may argue that the hearing impairment was a pre-existing condition that led to the injury, but the worker was still injured on the job, and is entitled to benefits.
Another example of a claim involving a pre-existing condition is that of an employee injured on the job during a diabetic emergency. If the diabetic employee faints because of their health condition, and in the process of fainting they hit their head and suffered a brain injury, they are entitled to Workers’ Compensation benefits. Their diabetes caused them to faint and led to their injury, but the fact remains that the employee was injured on the job.
Worsening a Pre-Existing Condition
Other claims may involve situations where a worker’s pre-existing condition is exacerbated by their work duties. Repetitive tasks, heavy lifting, and standing or sitting for prolonged periods of time may aggravate pre-existing back conditions, joint problems, or orthopedic conditions. Workers without these pre-existing conditions may suffer no ill effects from these types of working conditions, but those with pre-existing conditions can experience injury and health complications. Just because they were more vulnerable to injury does not prohibit them from claiming Workers’ Compensation benefits.
Workers’ Compensation benefits are designed to cover medical expenses and treatments related to a workplace injury, and to provide compensation for lost wages due to extended recovery periods. A pre-existing health condition should not prevent a worker from claiming benefits when an injury occurs on the job. An experienced and competent Workers’ Compensation lawyer can use their knowledge of the law to protect their clients’ rights to claim the benefits they are entitled to receive.
Highland Park Workers’ Compensation Lawyers at the Law Offices of Harold J. Gerr Help Injured Workers Claim the Benefits They Deserve
If you have been injured on the job and have a pre-existing health condition, the Highland Park Workers’ Compensation lawyers at the Law Offices of Harold J. Gerr can help you claim the benefits you are entitled to under the law. Call us at 732-537-8570, or contact us online to schedule a consultation today. Our offices are conveniently located in Highland Park, New Jersey, allowing us to serve clients throughout the state, including the areas of New Brunswick, Somerset, Piscataway, Edison, South River, Sayreville, Metuchen, East Brunswick, South Plainfield, Fords, Middlesex, Old Bridge, Iselin, Bound Brook, Perth Amboy, and Colonia.
