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Accidental Injuries are injuries caused by a sudden,
unexpected event arising out of, and in the course of employment. The injury
and resulting disability must be specifically caused by the accident and work
must be a major precipitating factor in the accident. In order to be eligible
for workers’ compensation benefits, the worker must not have been negligent at
the time of the accident.
Occupational diseases are diseases arising out of a
continual occupational exposure to harmful conditions.
Aggravation of a pre-existing condition occurs when an
occupational injury combines with a pre-existing condition to result in
disability. In this case, the worker is entitled to “full compensation”. The
injured worker is eligible to receive benefits until he or she returns to
pre-injury status, although the pre-existing condition may persist.
A series of injuries may be apportionable if a prior injury
independently produces a disability and continues to operate as the source of
disability following a more recent accident. In this case, different employers
may be responsible for benefits resulting from different injuries.
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