A study by the Center for Injury Research and Policy (CIRP) found that workers with disabilities were more than twice as likely to experience occupational injuries than those without disabilities. The study was based on data obtained by the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) which used computer-assisted personal interviews to collect information about injuries. The researchers were part of an institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and the Ohio State University. The study was published online in the American Journal of Public Health. The study also found that people with disabilities experienced non-occupational injuries more than three times those for workers without disabilities. The author of the study noted that increases in occupational injuries to workers with disabilities showed the need for better accommodation and safety programs in the workplace.
In most States, as in Wisconsin, a basic principle of law is that the presence of a pre-existing weakness does not disqualify the worker from worker’s compensation benefits.
From a worker’s compensation perspective, disability and lost work time stemming directly from a work accident presents a straightforward assessment on causation. The circumstances of an accidental injury superimposed on a pre-existing, progressively deteriorating condition is a trickier question. In most States, as in Wisconsin, a basic principle of law is that the presence of a pre-existing weakness does not disqualify the worker from worker’s compensation benefits. This approach is not unique to worker’s compensation. It has always been a basic principle of Continue reading