Workers’ Compensation 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.

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 injuries occur in many forms. For example, a worker may have sustained an injury to her/his feet, ankles, knees, hips, hands, wrists, elbows, shoulders, and spine. That worker may then re-injure that body part at work. The insurer will then question the connection between work and the current injury.

Recovering Workers’ Comp for Pre-Existing Injuries

There are two standards for pre-existing injury claims. If the prior injury was a Massachusetts compensable work injury then even the slightest aggravation of that prior injury is a new compensable claim. If the prior injury is not a Massachusetts compensable claim, and it combines with a work injury to cause or prolong disability or a need for treatment, the work injury is compensable only to the extent that it remains a major, but not necessarily predominant cause of the disability or need for treatment.

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 an injury involving the pre-existing condition, as the employer and/or workers’ comp carrier most certainly will deny the claim. Contact the Law Office of Jeffrey A. Young today to get the dedicated representation you deserve.