Having a heart attack is one of the scariest experiences anyone can have – and it is probably worse for truck drivers who are often far from home and carrying an expensive load he has been entrusted with.
So, what happens if you have a heart attack on the job? Does the company have to pay you worker’s comp?
The key part of understanding the answer to that comes from the Worker’s Compensation Act. It requires employers to pay the compensation due under the statute for injuries “arising out of and in the course of” your employment.
Having a heart attack on the job may satisfy the “in the course of” requirement, but what about the other part – arising out of?
This is where many heart attack cases fall short. The conditions that cause a heart attack usually have been building up over years and years and the fact that they happened at work may just be a question of random chance. In that case, the “arising out of” requirement isn’t met and there is no case.
There are some unusual circumstances where you may be able to satisfy the “arising out of” requirement such as when there was something specific that happened at work that triggered the heart attack – but those are rare, rare cases indeed.
If you know someone who suffered a heart attack while working there are two pieces of advice I would give them:
1. These are difficult, difficult cases to win, and you shouldn’t make plans around winning a heart attack worker’s compensation case because it doesn’t happen often.
2. The only way that you are going to win a heart attack worker’s compensation case is if you get high-quality legal help. These are cases that will be contested from the word “go”.
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!
