No one likes to think about the possibility of being injured in the future, but accidents do happen; and some of those accidents occur on the job. But what would happen if your breast implants were damaged while working?
It happened to a North Carolina woman whose right implant had ruptured and left implant had shown signs of rippling after a work-related car accident. After being awarded compensation to replace both implants, her employer and insurance company appealed.
The case was the first of its kind for the state’s Court of Appeals, which had to determine if breast implants should, in fact, be covered by workers compensation. Although all three judges agreed that they should be covered, their verdict partially reversed the original decision, leaving the woman with compensation for only the ruptured implant’s replacement, even though her plastic surgeon replaced both for the sake of symmetry.
Workers compensation laws vary from state to state and court to court. So if this accident had happened elsewhere, the victim may have been granted compensation for two replacements or none at all.
Either way, you may have no choice but to spend the money on replacement surgery long before a decision is made, as cases like these can take years to reach a ruling. In this instance, the accident occurred in 2001, but a final verdict wasn’t handed down until 2008.
What do you think? Should breast implants be covered by workers compensation? Let us know your opinion by leaving a comment below.
