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What if I had preexisting injury or illness at the time of my workplace accident?

Millions of people in the United States have a pre-existing health condition. The conditions range from life threatening to chronic illnesses. A pre-existing condition is a health condition a person has before they suffer a subsequent injury or illness. A pre-existing condition may include health issues such as diabetes, depression, mental health disorders, cancer, high blood pressure, paralysis and obesity. When an employee sustains a workplace or work-related injury or illness, they may have had a pre-existing condition. Although the accident may not have caused the condition or injury, it may have made the pre-existing condition worse.

An employee who files a workers’ compensation claim has the burden to prove that the work-related accident caused the injury or illness. For an employee with a preexisting condition, they must show that the work accident is the legal and medical cause of the injury or illness. The cause must have contributed to aggravation, acceleration and exacerbation of the pre-existing condition. If so, the employer is liable for the employee’s injury that is worsened by job-related injury or illness.

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The highly competent lawyers at Petrillo and Goldberg represent clients with personal injury claims, workers compensation claims, slip-and-fall cases and automobile accident victims. We work for you, and take our job of getting the best possible results for you seriously.