You can’t get workers’ compensation for an injury that you suffer when you are not on the job. Say that you’re moving to a new house over the weekend. While lifting and carrying furniture, you injure your back. It may mean that you can’t return to work on Monday, but you likely don’t qualify for workers’ compensation.
But does that mean that all preexisting conditions will disqualify you from benefits? It certainly does not. If you exacerbate a condition that you already had, you may still deserve workers’ comp because your activities on the job contributed to your overall physical limitations.
How could this happen?
For example, say that you don’t suffer any serious injuries while carrying furniture into your new house. But you do wake up in the morning with a back that feels stiff and slightly painful. You can tell that you’ve stressed your musculoskeletal system, and your muscles feel weak and fatigued.
When you get to work, your boss has manual labor for you to do. You do your best, but over the course of the day, your injury gets far worse. You try to lift a heavy item and suffer a slipped disc. Now it’s a catastrophic injury that means you may need to go in for surgery, and you definitely can’t work at all.
In this situation, even though the pain and discomfort began outside of work, it’s clear that your efforts on the job contributed to the severity of your injury. As such, you may still deserve workers’ comp benefits, and you need to know what steps to take as you seek them.