Illinois Workers’ Compensation Benefits for Pre-existing Conditions

We are Illinois attorneys whose focus is on providing free advice and if needed an attorney referral for all areas of Illinois law including workers’ compensation. If you would like a no cost, confidential consultation, please contact us at any time. One of the common questions we receive is from callers wanting to know if an Illinois workers’ compensation law firm can help when there is a pre-existing condition.

In addition to newl injuries, an employee may recover if a pre-existing physical condition is made worse by his or her work. For example, if you suffer from minor arthritis that would normally not affect your work, and your work conditions worsen that arthritis, your employers may owe you compensation.

Many times, an insurance company will tell an injured worker that a worker's injury is due to a pre-existing condition. Because of this pre-existing condition, the insurance company will not pay the injured worker workers’ compensation benefits.

For example, a pipe fitter picks up a large piece of pipe and notices pain in his back. The pipe fitter states that he has never had any problems in regard to his lower back and that all his symptoms began when he picked up the pipe. The company doctor looks at an MRI report and states that the pipe fitter’s pain is not because of this injury, but because of a pre-existing back condition that the pipe fitter has had for years.

If a worker sustains a work-related injury to a previously injured part of their body, regardless of whether the previous injury was work-related, they are not barred from recovery under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act. You simply need to prove that your job activities have aggravated or accelerated your problem.

Therefore, if you sustain an accident that aggravates or accelerates a pre-existing physical condition, it is important that you are examined by a credible doctor and have them confirm, in writing, that your job furthered your injury. A good attorney will either talk to your doctor for you or make clear what you should ask your physician. It is important that your doctor have a true understanding of your job activities as well as how you felt before the injury and after.

If your job causes, aggravates, or accelerates your injury you are generally entitled to receive Illinois workers’ compensation benefits. If you have any questions about pre-existing injuries or conditions and workers’ compensation or would like a referral to a qualified and experienced Illinois workers’ compensation attorney, please contact us.