- Workers' Compensation
Under the Florida Workers’ Compensation Act, to be eligible to receive benefits, an injured worker must establish that his or her accidental compensable injury is the “Major Contributing Cause” of the need for medical care and/or disability. “Major Contributing Cause” is defined as the cause which is more than 50% responsible for the injury as compared to all other causes combined for which treatment or benefits are sought. In cases involving occupational disease or repetitive exposure, the injured worker must establish causation by the more stringent “clear and convincing” standard.
What if you re-injure or aggravate a pre-existing injury? In Florida, if you re-injure a body part that was previously injured, the Employer/Carrier is only obligated to furnish benefits to the extent the work-related injury is and remains more than 50% responsible for the injury as compared to all other causes combined and remains the reason you need medical treatment. The Courts in Florida have not interpreted pre-existing conditions to include injuries sustained as a result of a prior work-related accident. Therefore, if your prior injury was attributable to a work-related accident, whether for the same Employer or a completely different Employer, the Insurance Carrier cannot use this as a means to deny you medical care.
Can the Insurance Carrier deny continued medical benefits after they have accepted my claim as compensable? The Employer/Carrier has a 120 day pay and investigate period from the initial provision of benefits to assert a denial of your claim. After that point, the Employer/Carrier can no longer contest that the accident is the “major contributing cause” of the injuries at issue. They can only contest the connection between a Claimant’s need for specific treatment or benefits, and the work-related accident. Once compensability of the injury is established, the burden shifts to the Employer/Carrier to demonstrate a break in the causation chain, such as the occurrence of a new accident or that the requested treatment was due to a condition unrelated to the injury which it had accepted as compensable.
What if your authorized doctor says your condition or injury is attributable to the normal aging process or arthritis? Case law supports that it is inappropriate to consider an injured workers’ normal-aged condition as a contributing, legal cause of the need for treatment in applying the major contributing cause analysis.
About Stacy Isaacs
Stacey Isaacs has been handling Florida Workers’ Compensation cases for over 15 years. Please contact WorkInjuryRights.Com™ today to arrange a free confidential consultation to discuss your cases. Call Stacey at 954-833-5226 or email her at stacey@workinjuryrights.com.
Disclaimer – This Blog Does Not Constitute Legal Advice – No Attorney-Client Relationship Formed by These Posts or By Any Comments, or By Comments Replying to Comments, on This Blog. The information and materials on this blog are provided for general informational purposes only and are not intended to be legal advice. The law changes frequently and varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Being general in nature, the information and materials provided may not apply to any specific factual and/or legal set of circumstances. No attorney-client relationship is formed nor should any such relationship be implied. Nothing on this blog is intended to substitute for the advice of an attorney, especially an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction. If you require legal advice, please consult with a competent attorney licensed to practice in your jurisdiction. Past results are no guarantee of future results
