The Employer Has The Burden Of Proving That An Injury Is Not Work-Related

In order to receive payment on a workers’ compensation claim, you do not have to prove that the injury happened because of your employer’s negligence.  You do not even have to prove that the accident is work-related.  Your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance will assume that the injury is work-related, or else you would have gone to a doctor you already knew for treatment, one that you were sure would accept your health insurance.  If your employer wants its insurance company to deny your claim and refuse to pay it, it is your employer’s responsibility to provide evidence that your injury had some cause other than a work accident.  The employer might try to attribute your injuries to a pre-existing condition or to an accident that happened during your non-work hours on some date after the incident at work.  Unless you work for a very small business, your employer has lots of resources available for talking its way out of paying the workers’ compensation claims of injured workers, but you also have the right to choose a South Florida workers’ compensation lawyer to represent you.

Two Accidents in Four Days

Omar was employed as a security guard at an apartment complex in Miami-Dade County.  He was not scheduled to work on April 16, 2012.  On that day, he went to a shopping mall with his family.  While at the mall, he slipped and fell, injuring his left knee.  He visited his own doctor, who performed a CT scan of his knee.  The injury was minor enough that Omar was back at work on April 19.  During his shift at work, he slipped and fell on an area of pavement that was covered in grease and gravel.

The work accident caused injury to Omar’s right shoulder, right elbow, and right knee.  The workers’ compensation doctor who examined him after the incident noted injuries to both his knees, in addition to his right elbow and shoulder.  Despite this, Omar’s employer denied the claim, arguing that Omar would not have fallen down at work if he had not injured his left knee three days earlier, and therefore the work accident was not the main contributing cause of his injuries.  The judge of compensation claims ruled in favor of the employer.

Omar appealed the JCC’s judgment.  The appeals court reversed the ruling.  The appeals court judge determined that the employer’s arguments about Omar’s employer’s arguments about the injury not being work-related were not convincing.  This is a case of an injured worker standing up for his rights, and in this case, the truth prevailed.  Just because you have previously suffered a traumatic injury when you were not at work, it does not mean that all subsequent injuries will be related to that one and therefore not compensable.

Let Us Help You Today

A Sunrise workers’ compensation lawyer can help you if you have been injured in a slip and fall accident at work.  Contact the Law Offices of David M. Benenfeld for a consultation.

Resource:

scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=7501525167689435764&q=workers%27+compensation+stein&hl=en&as_sdt=4,10&as_ylo=2011&as_yhi=2021