Question
If I had a subsequent, related injury two weeks after returning to work can the insurance company use the date of the second, injury which lowered my pre-disability earnings?
I had a work injury which required knee surgery, and I was off work recovering for 8 weeks. I returned to work, but 2 weeks later, I re-injured the same knee, requiring another surgery. I never worked again. After the first injury, my income dropped because I was wearing a brace and limping The insurance company is using the date of the second injury to calculate my pre-disability income, which is much lower. If a subsequent injury is related, do they have to use the first one? Is there any case law?
Answer
Very interesting fact pattern. Your second injury if it’s the same knee should relate back to the first and could be considered a concurrent disability claim. It really depends on the language in your disability insurance policy. You should email us the denial letter and a copy of your disability policy to review.
