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Tens of millions of Americans struggle with pre-existing medical problems while at work. These include degenerative conditions such as arthritis, acute injuries that have not fully healed, and mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression. If a previous injury or illness is affecting your ability to perform your normal duties at work, you may be wondering whether your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance coverage would provide benefits.
The answer will depend on the circumstances, and more specifically on your reason for seeking benefits and whether your condition has changed significantly during the course of your employment. Below is a brief overview of how pre-existing conditions for workers in Spartanburg and the surrounding areas can contribute to workers’ compensation cases. An experienced workers’ compensation attorney from our team at KD Trial Lawyers could explain each aspect in further detail.
Strictly speaking, pre-existing conditions cannot serve as grounds for a workers’ compensation claim in Spartanburg or other local community on their own. Workers’ compensation coverage is designed to provide benefits to employees who get hurt or sick in the course of performing their work duties. Since pre-existing conditions predate your current term of employment, they do not meet the basic criteria to justify a claim.
However, it is possible to seek workers’ compensation benefits if a work-related accident, repetitive stress, or exposure to other dangerous working conditions aggravated a pre-existing injury or illness. For example, if you were diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) prior to starting your current job and were then exposed to a dangerous inhalant at work, you could potentially seek workers’ compensation benefits for any worsening of your COPD symptoms that you can trace directly back to your hazardous working environment.
Proving that a pre-existing condition worsened specifically and directly because of your working environment in Spartanburg or another city can be much more difficult than proving that an acute injury was caused by a workplace accident. Comprehensive medical records are crucial in any workers’ compensation claim; however, it is essential to have as much documentation as possible in support of a claim over an aggravated pre-existing condition. You must show not only that your current condition is work-related, but also that it has worsened in specific ways noted by your doctors.
Furthermore, if you believe your pre-existing condition worsened because of your working environment or due to a workplace accident, you must report the change to your immediate supervisor as soon as possible. Ideally, you should provide your supervisor with a written report immediately and no more than 90 days after first identifying the aggravated condition. Failing to provide proper notice of a work-related medical problem is one of the easiest ways to stop a workers’ compensation claim before it can start.
Pre-existing conditions can affect every part of daily life and interfere with your ability to work and earn a living. You may have grounds to seek workers’ compensation benefits if you can prove that a prior condition noticeably worsened as a direct result of a workplace accident or some other hazardous condition at work.
If you have further questions about pre-existing conditions for workers in Spartanburg, Greenville, and the surrounding areas and your available options for seeking financial compensation, a member of the KD Trial Lawyers team can help. Call today to schedule a confidential consultation.