There is an old Illinois workers’ compensation saying that is just as true today. It goes, “An employer takes you as they find you.”
In plain English that means that your employer or insurance company can’t argue that something wouldn’t have happened to you if you didn’t already have a problem. If you can’t have surgery after a work injury because of a heart problem, they don’t get off the hook. If your old back problem gets worse from lifting on the job, that’s just the way it is. You get work comp benefits.
The same holds true for workers who have diabetes. Diabetics often take longer to heal and can have problems become much worse due to their non work related condition. That’s not a get out of jail free card for employers to avoid work comp responsibility in Illinois. They “take you as they find you” and if this means your work injury costs more than they think it should too bad.
A good example of this is a local route truck driver who called us after cutting his foot with glass. This was no ordinary glass as it pierced the bottom of his shoe and caused a bad gash. Being diabetic made it harder to heal and it got badly infected resulting in a surgery. There’s a possibility his foot might have to get amputated, but that is to be determined.
The insurance company denied his case and stated that he was really hurt and needed surgery because he has a diabetic ulcer on his foot. They are saying if it wasn’t for the diabetes, none of this would have happened.
This is a bullshit argument and one that likely can be easily overcome. To me it was just a Hail Mary attempt by the insurance company in hopes that the truck driver wouldn’t know any better and go away.
The reality is that none of this would have happened had he not injured himself while working for his employer. When that happens, the employer is on the hook for all reasonable and related medical care. Him being diabetic isn’t why he got injured. The fact that it made the recovery worse is not something he gets punished for.
Over 38 million people in the US are diabetic. They don’t get punished because of their condition when they get hurt on the job.
As a result we’ve seen cases where an injured Illinois worker had a case that would be worth a few thousand without diabetes become worth in the high six figures because the downward spiral causes them to either not be able to work or suffer a significant wage loss.
The only time diabetes really hurts injured workers case if it can be proven to be the actual cause of an injury. The most common example is carpal tunnel. Diabetics are 15 times more likely to have carpal tunnel than the general public. So that often creates a good defense to a claim.
If you have any questions about any of this or want a free consult, please reach out any time.
