So you get hurt on the job and the next thing you know, the insurance adjuster is talking about the arthritis you had in your back. Which is news to you because you never had a back problem.
Now you’ve got a problem of a different kind all together – a legal one.
The insurance company is required to pay your worker’s compensation benefits if your work accident was “A” cause of your injuries. It doesn’t have to be the main cause, a major cause, or anything else other than one of the contributing causes to your injuries.
A lot of people – in fact virtually everyone over the age of 30 – has some degree of arthritis in their neck or low back, and the more you age and the more you do hard physical work, the more likely it is that you will have what the medical profession calls “degenerative changes” in your back, neck, knees, and/or shoulders.
The thing about it is this: you can have all of those degenerative changes and still not have a bit of symptoms from it, and it isn’t until you have your work accident that these start to produce symptoms. When that happens, the insurance company is still required to pay your benefits – but you are likely to have a fight over it.
If the insurance company believes that they can attribute all of your medical problems to preexisting degenerative changes, then they don’t have to pay for anything. It is going to take well-qualified legal help to make sure that you continue to get disability checks that will keep food on your table and a roof over your head and that you continue to get access to quality medical care so that you can return to your normal life.
If you have a current worker’s compensation issue which you need help on, please feel free to reach out to our office by calling us at 312-263-1080 to discuss your issues and what options you have. There is no obligation to hire our law firm, and there is no charge for the call.
I hope this has been helpful, and if you know anyone who can benefit from this kind of information, please feel free to share this.
We are here to help truck drivers after an on-the-job accident. Knowledge is power, and the first step in protecting your rights is to know what they are.
Stay safe!
