After suffering an injury in the workplace, you may be receiving a lot of mixed messages. You know that you need to seek medical help, but your employer may try to limit your benefits and even deny them if you have a pre existing condition. If this pre existing condition has anything to do with the accident, it is sometimes easier for the claim to be denied. If your Georgia workers compensation claim has been denied, it is important to contact a workers compensation lawyer in Atlanta, GA right away to help you get the benefits you deserve.
How the Pre Existing Condition Affects your Current Injury
Depending on the type of pre-existing condition you have, it could change the way that your employer views your claim. Let’s say that you were in a car accident a few years ago and injured your knee. Then you continued to work at your industrial job that will need you to squat, stoop, and climb stairs. After years of this, or even a big fall at the workplace, your knee is damaged so bad that you are not able to perform the duties of your job.
In this case, you may file a Georgia workers compensation claim that even with that pre existing condition of the injured knee, the current injury that you are suffering is because of your work. On the other hand, your employer, who probably found out about the pre-existing condition, will say that the degeneration was caused by a previous condition and they will not want to pay the workers’ compensation claim.
While your employer may try to get out of paying for this claim, a pre-existing condition that is made worse by conditions in the workplace or your duties on the job could receive workers compensation. While the original accident, if it were caused by a workplace accident as well, may reduce the amount that you will receive, you are still eligible for benefits.
What do My Workers Compensation Lawyer in Atlanta, GA and I need to prove?
Working with a workers compensation lawyer in Atlanta, GA will help you to get the claim reversed so you can get your benefits. If the employer disputes the claim, it is up to you to get evidence, through an examination of a doctor, to indicate that the current disability and injury were caused by your job duties before you can get the benefits. Your employer is allowed to send you to a doctor of their choice to get the examination and you must visit with that doctor to get your benefits.
However, if your claim is denied by your employer because of the results of that examination, you can visit another doctor to get a second opinion. You can then use this second opinion to file an appeal of your claim with the help of a workers compensation lawyer in Atlanta, GA. Make sure that the second opinion that you get comes from a doctor who understands workers’ compensation and how these pre-existing conditions can be viewed in these cases.
Going Through the Workers Compensation Appeals Process
It is likely that the first time you file a Georgia workers compensation claim with your employer, they are going to do everything in their power in order to deny your claim. And having a pre-existing condition that relates to the claim can make that easier on your employer. If you are denied your workers compensation benefits, do not get discouraged. This is not the end of the line. You can choose to file an appeal in order to bring forth evidence that proves the injury is work-related and that you deserve your benefits.
The appeals process will require a lot of legwork from you and your workers compensation lawyer in Atlanta, GA. You will need to get statements and medical records from your doctor to prove that the injury, even if there is a pre-existing condition, was related to an accident or conditions in the workplace. Remember that if you were already receiving workers compensation for a similar injury from your employer, this will affect your future benefits, but it should not get you denied completely.
If you claim has been denied for workers compensation because of a pre-existing condition, you need an Atlanta workers compensation lawyer who will be on your side. Contact our professionals at Ted A. Greve and Associates to discuss your case and help you get the workers comp benefits you deserve.
