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You can get workers’ comp for a pre-existing condition if an on-the-job injury or illness makes your pre-existing condition worse. You might also be eligible for benefits if your pre-existing condition worsens due to your work duties. Proving your pre-existing condition was exacerbated is complicated. A workers’ compensation lawyer from our firm can help.
Farmer & Morris Law, PLLC can help by obtaining the required forms and medical evidence. Our lawyers can also explain how your state laws affect your claim to help you receive the medical care your injuries or illness require. They can also ensure you understand the financial benefits you deserve throughout your recovery. Your lawyer can investigate a lump-sum workers’ compensation settlement.
Apply for Workers’ Compensation Benefits Right Away
Applying for workers’ compensation benefits can be a long and arduous process. The process involves meeting a variety of notification and filing deadlines. While these are mandatory, they can be difficult to understand and comply with on your own.
The process may require:
- Notifying your employer of your injury within a specific number of days
- File your initial claim for benefits within a specific number of years
- File a request for an appeal of denied benefits within a specified timeline
Failing to make timely notifications and filings could prevent you from obtaining benefits. Our lawyer can make sure each deadline is correctly interpreted and complied with.
A Denied Application Is Not Automatically Final
If your initial application for benefits is denied due to a pre-existing condition, or for any other reasons, a lawyer can help you file an appeal. Like the original application process, the appeals process is complex.
When you work with a workers’ comp lawyer, he can:
- Explain the grounds you have for an appeal
- Ensure all proper notifications are made
- Add valuable information and evidence to your claim
Our legal team will explain the appeals process and the criteria your state uses to reach its final decision. An appeal lets you keep fighting for the benefits and compensation you are entitled to. The appeals process can be frustrating because it comes at the same time you are fighting to make a recovery and get back to work.
Medical Evidence Can Prove Your Current Health Care Condition
When you file a claim for workers’ compensation benefits, your medical condition will be assessed by a physician your employer chooses. Because your claim involves a pre-existing condition, you may need to provide medical evidence of its severity prior to your work-related injury.
The workers’ compensation physician will assess your condition going forward and determine its current degree of severity. That can sometimes be difficult. For instance, a knee injury that is exacerbated by a fall at your place of employment can be hard to evaluate.
When you are represented by a workers’ compensation attorney, they can help you fight to prove the toll your workplace injury has taken on you physically and on your ability to return to work.
Defining a Pre-existing Condition or Injury
A pre-existing condition is one that you already suffered from before the one you recently sustained at work. As a claimant, you must provide proof of your initial condition and of the cause of its aggravation.
Our lawyer will explain the type of evidence you will be required to present. They can also help you compile and organize the evidence and ensure your application for benefits is complete.
How a Pre-existing Condition Affects Your Benefits
If your claim for workers’ compensation benefits is new, you will need to prove your injury and its severity. If you are awarded benefits, you may receive the same benefits you otherwise receive with a new application.
These benefits include:
- Ongoing health care until you have reached maximum medical improvement
- A percentage of your wages and income, not including the first seven days
Family members who survive fatally injured workers may qualify for specific benefits. Our lawyers can explain the range of benefits you are entitled to. They will also explain how and when benefits will be awarded if your application is approved.
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Call for Immediate Assistance With Your Workers’ Compensation Case
In many cases, you can get workers’ compensation for a pre-existing condition if it is made worse by a workplace injury or if it makes a workplace injury worse. Since this is a complicated area of workplace law, our lawyers can help you navigate the application process, including evidence collection.
Contact one of our Farmer & Morris Law, PLLC team members to start fighting for benefits today.
