Occupational Disease Claims Under Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation

Occupational disease – i.e., diseases and disorders acquired from work tasks – can often be an important part of your Workers’ Compensation claim.  Many claims are based specifically on diseases and illnesses acquired because of dangerous chemical exposure or repetitive tasks, especially when it comes to getting Workers’ Comp for cancer or other conditions.

Employers and insurance carriers often try to stop claims for occupational illnesses on the grounds that it can be difficult to prove that the injury came from your work at their facility or site as opposed to exposure outside of work or in a former job.  The Workers’ Comp Act actually has rules for these issues, and you would need to prove these issues anyway in the course of making a claim – something our lawyers are prepared to help you do.

For a free case review, call our Certified Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Lawyers at Cardamone Law at (267) 651-7945.

Getting Workers’ Comp for an Occupational Disease in Pennsylvania

Workers’ Compensation covers all injuries sustained in the course of your work, but some legal hurdles do make getting benefits for occupational disease a bit more difficult.

Covered Diseases

Under § 108 of the Workers’ Comp Act, there are specific lists of diseases that are covered.  These primarily include heavy metal poisonings from direct exposure/handling; poisoning from phosphorus, methanol, carbon monoxide, benzol, and other listed compounds; caisson disease/”the bends”; radium poisoning and other radioactive exposure; poisoning from certain alkali compounds; skin cancer or injury from tar, paraffins, and similar compounds; injury/illness from oils and lubricants and the like; anthrax from handling animals/animal products; tuberculosis; hepatitis C from exposure during lifesaving procedures (e.g., for cops or emergency responders); heart and lung disease from firefighting; and byssinosis from inhaling fibers.

In addition, there are some big ones that we commonly think of as some of the most serious occupational diseases: asbestosis or cancer from asbestos exposure (e.g., mesothelioma), “black lung”/pneumoconiosis, silicosis, and certain cancers.

Lastly, there is a catch-all provision under subsection (n) that allows our Pennsylvania Workers’ Comp lawyers to make claims for other diseases that are not listed so long as the condition meets three requirements:

1. The exposure happened because of work
2. You acquired the disease because of your industry/your specific job
3. There is a higher incidence of this disease in your industry as compared to the rest of the general population

This subsection cannot be used to get coverage for hearing loss, silicosis, or black lung, and you need another acute injury or occupational disease listing to cover these.

Actual Exposure at Work

You must be able to show that your injury or illness came from work to get coverage for any occupational injury or disease.  Aside from the specific requirements of subsection (n), you normally need to show that your exposure to any injury happened because of work tasks.  E.g., if you never worked with lead or asbestos, it is going to be hard to claim that your lead poisoning or asbestosis came from work.

Duration of Exposure

For an occupational disease to be covered by this particular employer’s insurance – as opposed to a past or former employer’s insurance – you have to have been exposed to the disease or the substances that causes the disease for at least one year.  If you never reached a year at your most recent employer where this exposure happened, you might need to file against a former employer instead.

If you simply did not reach 1 year at any employer where this kind of exposure happened, then you might be able to file your claim with the employer you worked for the longest.

For silicosis, black lung, asbestosis, and similar lung issues, there also needs to be a total of at least 2 years of work in total where you were exposed to these dangers.

Recency of Exposure

Claims can only be filed against the most recent employer where you were exposed for at least a year.  The law looks back 300 weeks before your illness/diagnosis and requires that 1-year exposure period to be within the previous 300-week period for you to be able to file.  The same rule applies when filing for a loved one’s death – the death needs to have occurred in that timeframe.

For silicosis, black lung, asbestosis, and those other listed disorders, the 2 years of total exposure needs to have occurred within the 10 years before your diagnosis.

Presumption of Cause for Occupational Hazards

The Workers’ Comp Act also says that if you worked in a job where the occupational disease you caught was a hazard, they will assume that the disease indeed was from your exposure at work.  For example, if you work in a coal mine and got black lung, they will happily assume it came from your coal mining and not from some other exposure at home.  This makes it harder for the employer to challenge you on this front, though the presumption the law gives you is not iron-clad.

Time to Report

In many cases, occupational injuries appear quickly and must be reported to your employer within 120 days.  Because it might take more time for asbestosis, cancer, or other occupational diseases to appear, you get up to 300 weeks from your last employment exposure to claim an occupational disease.

Workers’ Comp Benefits for Occupational Diseases in Pennsylvania

When you claim Workers’ Comp benefits for a work-related injury or illness, you typically get benefits for your medical treatment, 2/3 of your lost wages while you are out of work, and certain compensation for permanent injuries (amputation, lost function, lost hearing/vision, and facial scarring).  With occupational diseases, you can get medical care and lost earnings covered in the same way.  In some cases, permanent injuries might result from the disease if you needed organs removed or resection of cancerous tissue, potentially getting you these benefits, too.

Some conditions do not cause total disability, allowing you to still work part-time.  If you are working part-time, your wage-loss benefits will often be 2/3 of the difference between pre- and post-injury wages instead.

Call Our Workers’ Comp Attorneys in Pennsylvania Today

For a free case review with Cardamone Law’s Philadelphia Workers’ Compensation lawyers, call (267) 651-7945.