Aug 29, 2019
Does Workers’ Compensation Cover Occupational Disease?
Occupational disease is contracted while performing the day-to-day duties of your job. This type of ailment is covered under workers’ compensation if you can prove that the disease:
- was caused by conditions of your employment; and
- could not have been otherwise contracted in your normal life.
Occupational Diseases
For an insurance company to acknowledge that a disease was caused by occupation, there needs to be an obvious link. For example, a nurse could accidentally stab themselves with a needle that was previously used on a patient with HIV.
Other examples of occupational diseases include:
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Contact dermatitis
- Bronchitis
- Asbestosis
- Asthma
- Loss of hearing
- Cancer
- Tendonitis
- Rabies
How to Prove an Illness Is Occupational
It can be extremely difficult to prove an illness resulted from one’s employment situation. A lawyer well-versed in occupational disease law can help build this type of workers’ compensation case.
To prove an ailment was caused by a hazard in the workplace, a person must demonstrate how the symptoms of their disease are consistent with other documented cases. There is no requirement that the disease occur suddenly. If a person’s disease developed slowly over a long period of time, a claim of occupational disease can still be made. As long as the claim is filed up to 1 year after the illness is officially diagnosed, a person is entitled to receive workers’ compensation benefits.
Aggravation of Pre-Existing Injury
In some cases, an occupational disease claim can be made if certain employment duties aggravate an existing illness. The process for proving this claim is the same as the standard occupational disease claim.
Get in Touch with Hansford McDaniel LLC
Have you contracted an illness due to a workplace incident? Hansford McDaniel LLC can help you file a claim. Our attorneys are dedicated to providing efficient, unique service to each client.
Call our firm today at (770) 741-2825 or contact us online for a case evaluation.
