How a Heart Attack Victim May Be Eligible for Workers’ Compensation

People who suffer heart attacks were often at risk because of genetic factors. Heart attacks can also be related to a bad diet and poor nutrition. However, it is possible to have a heart attack that was caused by a person’s job.

If you suffered a heart attack at work and you think it was caused by stress or another factor directly related to your job, contact our experienced Bakersfield workers’ compensation attorneys at Berry, Smith & Bartell today for a free consultation. We can determine if you may be eligible for benefits for medical treatment and lost wages while you are unable to work.

How Work Activities Could Cause a Heart Attack

Here are some examples of ways a job could contribute to a heart attack:

• Your job requires unusual or extraordinary physical work or strain
• You were required to work for many hours without a break
• You were required to lift an extremely heavy object and shortly after that you suffered a heart attack
• You worked multiple shifts back to back to finish your job
• An environmental factor at your workplace such as hazardous chemicals or exposure to heat caused your heart attack
• Your job caused unusual stress, excitement, worry, surprise, fear or anxiety that contributed to your heart attack
• You suffered another work injury and your treatment or medication from this injury caused your heart attack
• No contributing factors at home could have led to the heart attack

Talk to your workers’ compensation attorney about your work and medical history to determine whether you may qualify for benefits for your heart attack.

Factors in a Heart Attack Workers’ Compensation Claim

California workers’ compensation law requires that an injury or illness be work-related to qualify for workers’ compensation benefits. Work-related means that an event or exposure to a work environment caused, contributed to or aggravated the medical condition. Work-relatedness is often presumed for injuries that occur in the work environment.

To establish that your heart attack is work-related, it is important to be able to prove that you were completing work at the time the attack occurred. Medical evidence establishing the connection between your heart attack and work is key in these types of claims.

It may be possible to obtain benefits if you can prove the heart attack aggravated an existing injury or the heart attack is an aggravation of an existing condition, and the aggravation was caused by your work.

When your condition is aggravated and results in loss of consciousness, missed days from work, additional medical treatment that was not previously ordered or a change in your medical treatment, you may be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits.

To qualify for benefits on this basis, you will need clear evidence to establish that you had a pre-existing condition and that this condition was aggravated beyond the point to which it would have progressed had the work event or exposure not occurred.

To meet this heavy burden, your workers’ compensation attorney may have you visit another doctor or see a cardiologist to get an expert opinion on the cause and factors in your condition becoming aggravated.

Benefits of Having an Attorney for this Type of Claim

The workers’ compensation attorneys at Berry, Smith & Bartell have extensive knowledge of the process of applying for workers’ compensation.

We also know workers’ compensation insurance carriers often try to deny legitimate claims, even when employees have medical documentation and other evidence linking their injury to their work. This is why it important to have the help of an experienced lawyer who can appeal an unfavorable decision.

Speak with our legal team today to get more information on filing a claim.