Failing to disclose preexisting conditions in your workers compensation claim can be devastating to your case. I have taken time to write several blog articles on preexisting conditions. It is important to note that a preexisting condition IS NOT a bar to workers compensation benefits. However, failing to disclose it can have broad ramifications on your case.
Many clients simply fear that if they disclose they had a prior condition, that their benefits will be denied. Well, it will lead to a denial. If your claim is denied, that is why you would call Mooney Law. We have the experience, the trust of thousands of clients, and the proven results to protect your rights and benefits.
Often times, despite me asking in the client meeting about symptoms prior to the work injury, the client denies that to me as well. That puts me in a tremendous disadvantage. I have had clients deny prior problems in their testimony in front of a Workers Compensation Judge (WCJ). I have had clients deny prior problems to their own treating doctor and to the doctor who performs an independent medical examination on behalf of the insurance carrier. Each one of these scenarios can have a devastatingly negative impact on your case.
First off, once you deny it in your testimony, it is now of the official record in your case. Lying to a WCJ is always a way to completely sink your case. Failing to disclose it to your own treating doctor puts them in an awful bind when they have to testify about your work injury and can undermine their original testimony and records in your case. Failing to disclose to the independent medical exam doctor gives more credence to that opinion, which gives the WCJ more reason to deny your claim.
Read the link above. Disclosing your prior problems upfront gives me the best opportunity to distinguish your prior problems from your current work injury. Being upfront with the WCJ matters. It really does. My firm has won hundreds of cases and settlements with significant preexisting conditions involved. However, I can’t defend against something that the client fails to disclose to me.
Here’;s the thing. The attorney for your employer/insurance carrier is going to find your preexisting condition. They will ask you about all your previous treating providers and they will subpoena those records. They will find them. So, just tell me. Disclose it. And, let’s get out in front of it. That is your only avenue to success.
If you have been injured on the job in Pennsylvania or Maryland, call Mooney Law right away. Call Mooney Law at 717-200-HELP for a FREE consultation. We don’t recover unless we recover for you.
