How Pre-Existing Injuries Impact Workers’ Compensation
If you suffer an injury at work, it may affect a part of the body that was previously injured or has a long-term medical issue. As a result, you may worry whether your prior injury or pre-existing condition will affect your right to workers’ compensation benefits following a workplace accident.
Understanding the interplay between pre-existing conditions and workers’ compensation can help you seek the financial assistance you need for your recovery.
What You Need to Know About Pre-Existing Injuries in Workers’ Compensation Cases
Workers who aggravate a pre-existing injury or medical condition may fear their employer will deny their workers’ compensation claim if they re-injure or aggravate the affected area in a workplace accident. However, a pre-existing condition or injury does not automatically disqualify you from workers’ compensation benefits.
Although your employer and its insurance company do not have to pay workers’ compensation benefits for a pre-existing injury or condition, they may bear responsibility if you experience an aggravation of that injury or condition. An aggravation or re-aggravation may involve re-injuring an old injury that had healed or worsening the symptoms of a pre-existing injury or condition.
Common pre-existing conditions that may become aggravated or re-injured due to workplace accidents include:
- Back injuries – Workers in physically demanding jobs frequently suffer from prior injuries and pre-existing chronic pain, stiffness, and weakness in the back, which can make obtaining workers’ compensation after an accident challenging.
- Joint injuries – Prior injuries or pre-existing conditions in knees, wrists, elbows, shoulders, and other joints can become re-injured or aggravated by a traumatic accident at work.
- Repetitive stress injuries – Repetitive stress injuries can develop over time, eventually causing acute symptoms due to a traumatic event or overexertion at work.
- Degenerative diseases – Degenerative diseases like disc disease or arthritis can increase the risk of a traumatic workplace injury like a herniated disc or a strained or sprained ligament or tendon.
How Pre-Existing Conditions Could Affect Your Workers’ Compensation Claim
A prior injury or pre-existing condition may give your employer or the workers’ compensation insurer grounds to attempt to deny your claim for a work injury that aggravated your pre-existing condition. Depending on the nature of your prior injury or pre-existing condition, you may find it challenging to prove that a work accident re-injured or aggravated a previous injury or pre-existing condition.
However, the North Carolina workers’ compensation system still allows injured workers to recover benefits for aggravation of a pre-existing injury or medical condition due to a work-related incident. It’s crucial for you to work with our experienced North Carolina workers’ compensation attorneys, who will fight any attempts to deny or undervalue your claim.
Importance of Medical Documentation for Pre-Existing Conditions
Having thorough medical documentation can best protect your rights to workers’ compensation benefits following the aggravation of a pre-existing condition or injury in a work-related accident. Medical records can help you document the nature of your pre-existing injury or condition. Your medical records and testimony from your treating physicians can demonstrate or explain how the work accident re-injured or aggravated your prior injury or pre-existing condition.
Talk to Our Experienced North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Today
Contact Ward Black Law today for a free, no-obligation case review from a skilled workers’ compensation attorney to learn more about the effects of aggravation of a pre-existing condition in workers’ compensation and your legal options for seeking benefits for your work-related injury.
