Workers’ Comp for Pre-Existing Injuries
Massachusetts law provides workers’ compensation benefits when a worker sustains an injury or illness in the course and scope of their employment. The law also provides workers’ comp for pre-existing injuries that are aggravated or exacerbated on the job. However, these are some of the most commonly disputed workers’ compensation claims. It is essential to retain the services of a Massachusetts workers’ compensation attorney to protect your rights. Call today for a free consultation.
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Examples of Pre-Existing Injuries
A pre-existing injury or illness is simply an illness or injury that the worker sustained prior to the current workplace accident or injury. Pre-existing work injuries occur in many forms. For example, physicians may notice certain degenerative conditions that predated a new injury based on diagnostic studies such as x-rays, MRIs, and CT scans. Examples of conditions commonly noted through these diagnostic instruments include degenerative disc disease or spinal stenosis. Pre-existing conditions may affect the feet, ankles, knees, hips, hands, wrists, elbows, shoulders, and spine. Other pre-existing conditions or illnesses may be psychologically rooted, as is the case with depression, anxiety, and PTSD. They can also manifest in illnesses and diseases such as asthma, heart, and pulmonary conditions, and also include injuries such as hearing and vision loss.
Recovering Workers’ Comp for Pre-Existing Injuries
Under Massachusetts’ workers’ compensation statutes, the exacerbation or aggravation of a pre-existing injury is compensable. The law holds that a new injury sustained within the course and scope of a workers’ employment must be covered by workers’ compensation, so long as that injury is a “major cause” for the cause of the workers’ disability or need for treatment. Of course, this means that the injured worker is entitled to all of the medical, lost wages, permanent incapacity, and loss of function benefits that the Massachusetts workers’ compensation laws provide, just like any other compensable workplace injury or illness.
Call the Law Office of Jeffrey A. Young Today!
It is absolutely essential that an injured worker with pre-existing conditions contact a lawyer immediately when faced with a new, as the employer and/or workers’ comp carrier most certainly will. Contact the Law Office of Jeffrey A. Young today to get the dedicated representation you deserve.