Being injured on the job presents a range of specific problems for many victims. If you’re a victim of a workplace injury, your income flow is likely to be affected, and you must also recover from an injury that may require considerable time to heal. Additionally, there will often be expenses for traveling to and from medical appointments along with receiving the medical bills directly, in some situations. One issue which might complicate your ability to recover lost wages and compensation for medical expenses is when you suffer an injury to a part of your body that has been injured before. Most injured workers in North Carolina are not covered by workers’ compensation insurance when this happens, unless the new injury creates more damage to the specific physical area. And there is often resistance from respondent workers’ compensation insurance companies when this happens.
Initial Evaluation
Employers are responsible to some extent for vetting a new employee hire to ensure that he or she is physically able to complete the specified tasks at hand. 
Employers show some level of acceptance that the individual can perform the duties required for the particular job when the applicant is hired. Issues arise when an injury sustained while under the employ of a previous company becomes ‘re-injured’ whilst working for a new employer.
Documentation to Support the Injury Claim
Even when a claim denial results in no medical coverage, it is still important to continue seeking medical treatment. Proving a recurring injury requires extensive medical diagnosis in most cases, and the prognosis can also be important when the injury is serious and debilitating. It is also very important after filing to attend every medical appointment and follow doctors orders diligently to show you are trying to rehabilitate the injury as much as possible. This provides your workers comp attorney with as much medical evidence as possible to use in establishing any new aspects of what the employer or their insurance company is claiming as a pre-existing injury to justify a claim denial.
Potential Negligence Lawsuit
The fact that an injured worker had a prior injury similar to a recent one does not alleviate employers from potential negligence claims. Any significant evidence of negligence could result in a lawsuit regardless of any stated reasons for a workers’ compensation denial based on prior injury. An experienced workers comp attorney can obtain all documentation needed to build the negligence case, including prior citations or an employer history of issues with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Many employers skirt the rules and regulations of workplace safety, especially when employees are performing job duties in remote locations, and a totality of the circumstances can still result in a lawsuit when negligence is proven.
Contact Our Law Firm
Even when a workers’ comp. claim may be denied due to a prior injury, all injured workers should pursue financial compensation to the full extent of the law. This is especially true with serious injuries that may result in the need to file for disability after the fact. Injury reports, medical evidence, and legal challenges can all provide evidence that can be used for full adjudication of an injury and any rights to financial compensation. North Carolina workers who have been denied a workers compensation claim should contact our law firm and let a workers comp attorney investigate your claim for maximum compensation.
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