If on-job activities lead to injury, law covers it
Published 02/01/00

Workers’ compensation law in New Hampshire is intended to compensate workers who are injured in the course of their employment. Some injuries are traumatic and immediate, such as a broken arm, and are easily traced to a specific incident at work. However, some injuries develop more slowly, as the result of repetitive activities or small, repeated strains, and it can be more difficult to trace the cause of those injuries to one’s employment. As the New Hampshire Supreme Court clarified in an October 1999 decision, however, those kinds of injuries are compensable under New Hampshire workers’ compensation law, even if the employment activity is not the sole cause of the injury.

In Appeal of Bellisle, the New Hampshire Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Department of Labor’s Compensation Appeals Board denying workers’ compensation benefits to a worker injured as a result of repeated lifting in the course of his employment. The worker had been employed by a supermarket for many years, and spent approximately 75% of his time lifting boxes. He first felt back pain when he jumped from a height of approximately eighteen inches while working. He saw a doctor, and was instructed to rest. He later returned to work. A few months later he began to again feel pain. After trying a number of different kinds of treatment, it was determined that the worker suffered from spondylolisthesis, a spine problem which the doctors agreed was congenital in nature and came about irrespective of his employment activities. The Compensation Appeals Board relied on this conclusion in denying workers’ compensation benefits.

The worker appealed to the Supreme Court, which overturned the decision of the Compensation Appeals Board. The Supreme Court noted that New Hampshire law provides that "regardless of the presence of a pre-existing degenerative condition, an accidental injury within the meaning of the workers' compensation law need not be traumatic or dramatic, but rather may arise from routine activities that result in an unexpected effect."

The Supreme Court held that an employee with a congenital or degenerative disease does not need to prove that his disability would not have arisen "but for" his employment. Instead, if work activities contribute to the employee's disability, even if disability without such a contribution would have resulted from his condition at some future date, the employee may recover. An employee needs to prove only that either a specific incident or cumulative work-related stress contributed to, aggravated, exacerbated, or accelerated the employee's congenital or otherwise pre-existing condition to disability. Because there was sufficient evidence presented in this case to show that the worker’s employment activities aggravated the pre-existing condition, the injury was considered compensable under New Hampshire law.

It is important to note that once the injury is deemed compensable, the rate at which compensation is paid is not affected by the fact that a pre-existing condition contributed to the injury. If an employee is found to be disabled and completely unable to work, and cumulative work-related strains or activities contributed to, aggravated, exacerbated, or accelerated that disability, the employee is entitled to receive 60% of his average weekly wage as compensation benefits, just as he would if he had suffered a traumatic injury at work, such as falling off of a loading dock.

This decision makes clear that New Hampshire workers’ compensation law recognizes that not only do traumatic injuries happen at work, but so do injuries that are the result of smaller strains and repetitive activities. When those activities contribute to cause an injury, they are compensable under New Hampshire workers’ compensation law, even if they have only aggravated a pre-existing condition.

The attorney who wrote this article is no longer at the law firm of Hamblett & Kerrigan, P.A. in Nashua. Other practitioners at the firm handle work in the same areas of law which he worked in, which included employment law, family law, and general litigation, including property tax abatement and personal injury.You can reach one of those lawyers by calling the law firm (883-5501) or by e-mail at info@nashualaw.com .

This information is general information and may not reflect the most current legal developments, verdicts or settlements. The information provided should not be relied upon as an indication of the actual state of the law or of future developments. The information contained on the Hamblett & Kerrigan website is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. If the information referenced may be of legal importance to you, you should consult with an attorney to provide you with legal guidance and opinion as the the effect of the current law upon your situation.