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Workplace illness claims can be hard to prove

On Behalf of | Nov 22, 2015 | Workplace Illness |

If you are familiar with workers’ compensation law, you likely know that workers’ compensation benefits are relatively easy to recover compared to many other types of compensation. Generally speaking, these benefits are provided by insurers who are being paid by your employer, and these payments are specifically designed to ensure that injured workers get the care and assistance that they need in the event of an accident. Much like how health insurance makes it easier and cheaper for you to afford health care, workers’ compensation is designed to make recovery from workplace injuries easier.

Unfortunately, this ease-of-access does not apply to all levels of workers’ compensation in the same way. For most issues of workers’ compensation, the key is to prove that your injury happened on the job. When you suffer a physical injury such as a cut or a bruise, this is often simple to prove, but when it comes to illnesses, proving that your job caused the health issue can be much more difficult, and this may prevent you from receiving the compensation you deserve.

Take, for example, the story of a woman in Pennsylvania, who has been waiting eight years to receive the compensation she deserves. Reportedly, the woman’s husband suffered brain damage due to chemical exposure at his place of work. Four years after the filing, a judge ruled in favor of the man, but he passed away back in 2014, still unable to collect on the compensation he deserved. His widow has yet to receive the compensation for lost wages or medical bills.

If you are injured on the job, or if your job makes you ill, you may think that you do not need the aid of an attorney because workers’ compensation claims tend to be easy. However, this is not always the case, and especially when it comes to workplace illnesses, the assistance that an attorney offers you can be crucial to proving your case. This is particularly true in New York, where state laws place caps on compensation, which means that the severity of the injury can affect how much compensation victims receive.

Source: Healthline, “If Your Job Makes You Sick, You May Be Out of Luck,” Kristen Fischer, Nov. 16, 2015

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