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Personal Injury
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When determining workers' compensation coverage, most states condition benefits on the worker receiving a "personal injury" in the course of his employment. The remainder of states just use "injury." For workers' compensation purposes, a "personal injury" or "injury" includes not only harm to the person from a trauma, such as a cut from a sharp piece of equipment, but also occupational diseases. Further, a "personal injury" can be either a physical or mental condition.
When examining whether the worker has suffered a "personal injury," courts have determined that ordinary wear and tear does not suffice. Additionally, a "personal injury" does not include harm to the worker's body due to the normal aging process. In a majority of jurisdictions, the harm that befalls a worker's prosthetic device, such as an artificial arm or leg, during the course of his employment is also not compensable as a "personal injury." In those states allowing compensation for prosthetic devices, it must be shown that the "injury" to the device was occasioned by a compensable accident. Courts have held that when a physical injury damages a worker's health aide, such as his eyeglasses or dentures, compensation should be rendered. The reasoning for such a holding has ranged from 1) the injury has so affected the worker that the previous prescription or fit of the aide is no longer viable to 2) the health aide is part of the medical and rehabilitative benefits contemplated by the workers' compensation statute. Copyright 2009 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.
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