Pre-existing Conditions

Massachusetts has a workers’ compensation system that is set up to pay injured workers’ medical benefits and lost wages while the worker is recovering from an injury on the job. Employers are required to accept workers as they are. No worker injured at a workplace or work site forfeits their workers’ compensation benefits just because they have a pre-existing medical condition, or suffered a prior work or non-work related injury.

Massachusetts workers’ compensation regulations provide benefits for aggravation of pre-existing injuries, but those regulations require that the work-related injury be a major cause of the need for new medical treatment or time off work.

The bottom line: If a pre-existing condition is aggravated by an accident at work or a workplace repetitive motion injury, you may qualify for workers’ compensation benefits. If your workers’ compensation claim has been denied on the grounds of a pre-existing injury, you need to consult an experienced workers’ compensation attorney about your legal rights.

Injured on the Job? Contact Our Workplace Accident Lawyers

If you are suffering from a pre-existing condition and your workers’ compensation benefits have been denied, you should talk to an experienced Massachusetts workers’ compensation attorney about the benefits you are entitled to receive, including lost wages, medical expenses and vocational rehabilitation costs.

For a free case evaluation of your workers’ compensation claim, please contact us online or call us toll free at 800-367-0871 to speak with an experienced workers’ compensation attorney at Kantrovitz & Associates, P.C. We have more than 20 years of experience fighting for the rights of individuals injured in the course of their employment.

Based in Boston, Massachusetts, the workplace injury lawyers at Kantrovitz & Associates, P.C., help injured workers Massachusetts, including but not limited to Boston, Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Plymouth or Merrimack River. We also represent Rhode Island and New Hampshire residents whose injuries occurred in Massachusetts or who were hired in Massachusetts but who were injured out of state.

Pre-Existing Condition Not a Reason to Deny Claim

An employer or employer’s workers’ compensation insurance provider may try to use a worker’s pre-existing condition as an excuse to deny your workers’ compensation claim. You need an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer to stand up for you and assert your legal rights.

A workplace injury or incident significantly aggravates a pre-existing injury or illness when it causes any of the following:

• Medical treatment;
• Loss of consciousness;
• Days away;
• Days restricted when employee cannot handle regular duties; or
• Job transfer.

Some types of injuries do not qualify as work-related injuries, including injuries resulting from voluntary recreational or fitness activities, motor vehicle accidents during a regular commute to and from work, or personal tasks outside assigned work hours.

Disability and Pre-existing Conditions

If you suffer a workplace injury or disease that combines with a pre-existing injury or condition to create a need for extended disability or treatment, the workers’ compensation system requires that the workplace injury remain a major cause of the disability or ongoing need for treatment.

An injury is considered a workplace injury if an incident in the workplace caused the condition or significantly aggravated a pre-existing injury or illness, according to the Massachusetts Division of Occupational Safety.

It’s important to keep in mind that an injury or illness resulting from events in the workplace is presumed to be work-related. You worked hard for your workers’ compensation benefits. An experienced workers’ compensation attorney at Kantrovitz & Associates, P.C., will work hard to help you obtain your full benefits.

Why You Need a Workers’ Compensation Attorney

Massachusetts workers’ compensation laws, including the statutes concerning pre-existing conditions, are complex. The insurance company may deny your new injury was caused by a workplace accident. At the hearing to decide your claim, the employer’s insurance company will have a lawyer arguing on their behalf. You should too. You should have an experienced workers’ compensation attorney standing up for your legal rights to benefits when a workplace injury aggravates a pre-existing condition.

The experienced workers’ compensation attorneys at Kantrovitz & Associates, P.C., are here to help workers with pre-existing conditions obtain the benefits they’re due after workplace injuries and illnesses. We can advise you on the best strategy for obtaining workers’ compensation benefits when a workplace injury aggravates a pre-existing condition.

Remember that if you hire a workers’ compensation attorney because you have been denied benefits, Massachusetts workers’ compensation law states that the workers’ compensation insurer will pay the majority of your attorneys’ fees.

Contact Our Workplace Injury Lawyers Today

While many Massachusetts lawyers practice in a number of different areas of the law, the workplace injury lawyers at Kantrovitz & Associates, P.C., concentrate exclusively in the area of workers’ compensation. Our experienced workers’ compensation attorneys have more than 20 years of experience in all types of workplace injury cases — and we can help you.

We believe in a hands-on approach, providing individual attention to each and every client. We do not pass off cases to other Massachusetts law firms or to junior associates. A client will have the same attorney handling his or her claim from start to conclusion.

Our workplace accident attorneys believe strongly that all clients should be well educated with respect to the laws and should be active participants in all facets of their workers’ compensation claim. We are ready to answer workplace injury questions from workers Massachusetts, including but not limited to Boston, Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Plymouth or Merrimack River. We also represent Rhode Island and New Hampshire residents whose injuries occurred in Massachusetts or who were hired in Massachusetts but who were injured out of state.

For a free, no obligation evaluation of your workers’ compensation claim, please contact us online. The workers’ compensation lawyers at Kantrovitz & Associates are here to help victims of workplace injuries. You may also call us toll free at 800-367-0871.