What is the law regarding a pre-exisiting injury?
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What is the law regarding a pre-exisiting injury?
I injured back on my day off and was on short-term disability for a month. My back got better so I was released back to full duty. While at work night, reinjured my and they said that there wasn’t anything they could do because it was a preexisting injury. Is this legal?
Asked on December 6, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, Louisiana
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Legally, if you exacerbated a pre-existing injury, one that had occured not at work, your employer's responsibility or liability is limited: the employer is not generally responsible for injuries you incur away from work and while not working, even if you then reinjure them at work, since you most likely should not have come back to work until the injury was fully resolved, or should have let your employer know you had a continuing condition, so they could have made reasonable accomodations, if appropriate. You could and should consult in detail with an employment law or worker's compensation attorney, to see if in the specifics of this case, you do have a claim of some kind; however, you need to be aware that your employer may well be correct, and this may not be their responsibility.
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