When most people think of workers’ compensation cases, they envision an accident like a slip-and-fall or forklift accident.
But workers’ compensation insurance covers a much wider array of health issues that can stem from the course of your work as an employee. What are some of these, and what should you know about them? Read on to learn about a few types of health problems that may affect you.
1. Contagious Illnesses
One big question as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold was whether or not an employee could be covered if they were exposed at work. The answer varied. However, a number of other contagious diseases may be covered incidents if you were exposed at work.
In general, the employee’s risk of getting the disease must be higher at work than in normal activities. A medical professional, for instance, is likely at a higher risk than the average office worker of coming into contact with a number of communicable diseases. The medical provider may be covered if they’re exposed to HIV while the office worker may not be.
2. Heart Attacks and Strokes
Having a heart attack or a stroke while at work is not necessarily covered by workers’ compensation. Diseases that are considered to be part of the normal course of life aren’t automatically included just because they occur at a job site. However, a heart attack that was primarily caused by a high-stress job may be covered by workers’ comp — no matter where it occurs.
3. Repetitive Stress Injuries
A repetitive stress injury is one of the most common chronic problems covered by workers’ comp. This cumulative injury happens over time, usually by making the same movements or actions many times.
Office workers may experience carpal tunnel syndrome from computer work, for example. A single incident may not cause the injury, and it may only become obvious over time. However, if the repetitive actions are due to the nature of your work, they are usually covered.
4. Mental Health Problems
To be covered by workers’ comp insurance, any injury or illness must come about as a result of your work for the employer. This makes mental health coverage harder to prove than many other types of health problems. Life is stressful for many. Childhood or past traumas cause many problems for adults. And some of the biggest sources of anxiety have nothing to do with work.
However, don’t let this deter you from learning about workers’ compensation and mental health coverage. It may be included if you were traumatized by a covered accident or if your particular work exposes you to traumatic events.
5. Hearing Problems
As with repetitive stress injuries, hearing problems often come on slowly and build up over time. However, this doesn’t preclude them from workers’ compensation if the source of the noise or ear damage is at work. If you’re a drummer in your off hours, you may not be able to link hearing problems solely with your work in construction.
6. Pre-existing Conditions
A preexisting condition is a health issue that predates an accident or trigger. It will be carefully considered when determining if that trigger is actually work-related or not.
For example, if you have a history of high blood pressure, you may be at higher risk for a heart attack or stroke. This preexisting condition may be the primary reason for your heart attack while at work. However, if you’ve managed your high blood pressure for many years, your high-stress job may have exacerbated the problem. In this case, the incident may be covered by workers’ comp.
Where to Learn More
Have you been affected by one or more of these unusual work-related health issues? You may deserve workers’ compensation coverage even if it’s not immediately evident. Find out more by meeting with the attorneys Williams & Swee. We’ll help you understand your workers’ compensation and personal injury case to ensure you get the compensation you need no matter the nature of your injury. Call today to make an appointment.
