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Florida's Workers' Comp Lawyer | 25 Years Of Experience
Florida workers are entitled to medical care and a percentage of their lost wages when they are injured or fall ill because of an on-the-job injury. Almost all employers must provide workers’ compensation insurance and provide medical and lost wage benefits for their employees. The process for receiving the benefits you are entitled to is often challenging. This is especially true when it involves pre-existing conditions.
Pre-existing conditions for workers in Florida can make matters more difficult when the work injury aggravates or worsens an earlier condition, illness, or disease. Insurance companies often try to deny workers compensation benefits when the injured worker has a pre-existing injury. An experienced workers’ compensation attorney from the Law Firm of Kevin A. Moore is your best chance to get the benefits you are entitled to.
Florida imposes strict deadlines for filing workers’ compensation claims. Generally, you must report an injury to your boss within 30 days of when the accident happens. However, repetitive motion injuries and those affecting a pre-existing condition may take longer to manifest themselves. One solution to this situation is to consult your doctor as soon as you feel pain. This gives you 30 days to report your injury after your doctor tells you it is work-related. Many times insurance companies deny workers’ compensation claims because injured workers do not timely report their injuries. Attorney Kevin A. Moore can fight these denials to ensure you get the benefits you deserve.
Florida Statutes § 440.19 also limits the amount of time you have to file with the insurer for workers’ compensation benefits. You must file a claim within two years after realizing that your job duties are worsening your condition. Unfortunately, it is common for employers and insurers to challenge the time it took you to file a claim. They may also insist that your symptoms are not related to your work. Consulting a knowledgeable workers’ compensation attorney to discuss pre-existing conditions for workers in Tampa protects your right to benefits.
Fla. Stat. § 440.09(1)(b), states that when the workplace injury exacerbates an old injury, and both combine into one injury the doctor must certify that the workplace injury is more than 50 percent responsible for the combined injury before you can collect benefits.
Because medical evidence is the only acceptable form of proof, the doctor who treats you should be familiar with the workers’ compensation system. Tampa, Florida attorney Kevin Moore, has worked with these complicated claims thousands of times and can assist in collecting the evidence you need when you are injured at work with a pre-existing condition.
The workers’ compensation system protects employees when they are injured on the job and cannot work or can only work limited hours or for reduced wages due to being on a light-duty work status. Workers’ compensation benefits pay for medical care and a percentage of the injured employee’s lost wages.
Injuries that include pre-existing conditions get complicated. Call the Law Firm of Kevin A. Moore today to discuss how we can help you file your claim. Attorney Moore will be your point of contact throughout the process and ensure you know what to expect at every turn.
