Employer’s Defenses to a Workers’ Compensation Claim: Waiver
The general rule in awarding injured workers compensation in Tennessee for work-related injuries is that employers “take injured workers as they find them.” This means that the presence of a pre-employment injury, disease or condition will not preclude the employer’s payment of compensation based on an accidental injury that aggravates a pre-employment injury. Likewise, if an employee injures his back while working for Employer A and then later re-aggravates the injury while working for Employer B, he can receive compensation for the subsequent injury regardless of his prior injury.
However, people with certain conditions can waive worker’s compensation for injuries resulting from the condition. The purpose in passing the waiver provisions is similar to the purpose of the second injury fund—to provide incentives for the hiring of impaired workers. The waivers apply to epilepsy, specific occupational diseases and heart disease. The following provisions control:
- T.C.A. 50-6-213 provides for an optional waiver for epileptics. Under the provision, epileptics may elect not to be subject to compensation provided certain procedures are followed. The waiver, however, does not apply to injuries that do not result from epilepsy.
- T.C.A. 50-6-307(a) provides for an optional waiver for workers or prospective workers who have been found to be affected by or susceptible to a specific occupational disease. To be valid, the waiver must be approved by the workers’ compensation division of the department of labor and workforce development.
- T.C.A. 50-6-307(b) provides for an optional waiver for workers or prospective workers that have a prior history of heart disease, heart attack or coronary failure or occlusion. If valid, the waiver only applies to claims growing out of an aggravation or repetition of the condition.
As can be guessed, the primary issue of dispute when waivers are involved is whether the subsequent injury resulted from the waived condition. If the injury was not caused by the waived condition, then the injury is compensable.
If you have been injured but previously waived compensation, you can find out if the injury is nonetheless compensable by speaking with one of our experienced TN workers’ compensation attorneys. Dial 866-853-2888 to schedule an initial consultation with Baker Associates.
