An occupational disease requires you to prove a link between the illness and your job.
Workers’ compensation is a type of insurance that provides employees with coverage for injuries or illness that are work-related. For injuries, it is often a relatively simple matter to prove that what happened was related to work: a fall happened while on a job site, or a repetitive injury was caused by a motion that a worker had to perform over and over again as part of his or her work duties. But how does an employee prove that an occupational disease was caused by his or her job?
As a general rule, occupational diseases are illnesses that are either developed or aggravated by a type of work. Different state workers’ compensation laws typically allow employees to receive benefits for occupation diseases if they can prove that the illness is work-related. While each state law is different, to prove that an occupational disease or illness was caused or aggravated by a job, an employee usually has to prove two factors: (1) that the disease was caused by conditions that are characteristic of and specific to a particular occupation and (2) that the disease was not an ordinary disease of life to which the general public was equally exposed.
In other words, there has to be a link between a particular job and this disease, and something about that job must increase that risk of contracting that disease. Perhaps the most recognizable example of an occupational disease may be black lung disease, which many coal miners contracted from working in coal mines. The disease was caused by conditions that are characteristic of and specific to coal mining — coal dust in the mines — and the disease was not an ordinary disease of life to which the general public was equally exposed, because other people were not exposed to such high levels of coal dust in an enclosed space.
A disease does not have to only be acquired through a particular occupation in order to be considered an occupational disease. Instead, it is enough that there is a link between the nature of the job and an increased risk of contracting the disease. Other examples of occupational disease might include dermatitis or other types of skin conditions acquired by someone who works with cleaning solutions, or hepatitis contracted by a lab technician. In other cases, diseases contracted by workers are not considered to be occupational diseases because the employee cannot prove that there is a recognizable link between the job and this particular disease.
There can often be cases where ordinary disease of life are also occupational diseases. For example, lung cancer is an ordinary disease, but it may also be caused by a person’s occupation. This was often the case when people worked with asbestos, which increased the risk of developing lung cancer.
Proving that you have an occupational disease and a right to benefits under workers’ compensation can be challenging. A skilled workers’ compensation attorney can help you prepare your case and ensure that you get the benefits that you deserve for the injuries that you have occurred while on the job. At PLBH, our attorneys are highly skilled at representing injured workers. Contact us today at (800) 435-7542 or info@plblaw.com to schedule a free initial consultation, and to learn more about how we can help you obtain workers’ compensation for your workplace injury or illness.