Were you on the job?

Some employers will try to narrow down that definition. Does it include travel to and from work? Were you traveling or visiting as part of your work? Were you driving a company car? Were you working at home and if so, was it with your employer’s permission or direction? Were you occupied in a recreational activity at the time of injury? If so, was it promoted by your employer? Were you ordered to participate?

There may also be some reluctance on the part of your employer’s insurance company to pay your claim as long as any uncertainty exists as to whether you were really at work when you were injured.

Hiring your own Missouri Workers’ Compensation lawyer would be a great help in this, as you’d have someone to protect you and speak for you. Your employer and his insurance company have their own interests to protect, and you may need vigorous protection of yours as well.

Defining injury and accident

In August, 2005, Missouri enacted new Workers’ Compensation laws. Any injury or occupational disease must, since that date, meet a new standard, known as “the prevailing factor”. This states that your work must be the main cause of your injury or disease.

Many other causes of medical problems, such as aging, pre-existing conditions, and the normal activities of daily living will not be counted, and if any of those are found to be the “prevailing factor” in your medical condition, then you won’t be eligible for workers’ compensation.

Some injuries are the result of an idiopathic condition, which is some innate weakness or personal flaw that an individual has. A work injury may appear to be caused by a work accident, but the person’s idiopathic condition may be determined to be the prevailing factor, rather than the work accident.

An example of a Workers Compensation Case

Let’s say your eyes have a tendency to dryness, impairing your vision at times. That could be an idiopathic condition, and could also be a pre-existing condition, if a doctor has previously diagnosed some cause for it. Let’s say that at work one day you fail to see a lump of cement on a walkway, and you trip and fall, injuring yourself. At first glance it may seem that your employer is liable for having an obstructed walkway. But your employer may claim that your eyesight was at fault because you should have seen the cement. It may then be decided that your dry eye condition was the prevailing factor, and you’re not eligible for Workers’ Compensation.

Missouri Workers’ Compensation law is complex and often puzzling. If you’ve sustained a workplace injury, do yourself the service of contacting an experienced St. Louis, Missouri Workers’ Compensation lawyer.