It has long been Alaska law that complications as the result of a work-related injury are also workers compensation injuries and the insurance company must pay for all benefits caused by the complications as well as the original injury. Kodiak Oilfield Haulers v Adams, 777 P 2d 1145 (Alaska, 1989).
In the Adams case, the injured worker was involved in an automobile accident while he was driving home from a doctor’s appointment which aggravated his work-related back injury. The Board held that the motor vehicle accident injury was compensable and the Alaska Supreme Court affirmed it.
In Dupius v Glacier Seamless, AWCB Decision No 11-0103 (7/19/11), a worker cut his finger at work, had it treated in an emergency room and picked up a staph infection in the wound. The Board held that the employer was responsible for the treatment of the staph infection as well as the cut.
Keenan Powell has practiced Workers Compensation law in the State of Alaska for over 30 years and has dedicated her practice to Workers Compensation representing injured Alaskans handling hundreds of cases. www.keenanpowell.com.
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