Learn About: Injury / Substantial Aggravation

Learn About Ohio Workers' Compensation

The Ohio workers' compensation system can be confusing. Our learn about pages provide basic information about the Ohio workers' compensation system. You can find out more about the system from our Ohio Workers' Compensation Guide or our explanation of Ohio workers' compensation terms.

Learn about substantial aggravation of a pre-existing injury:

The law for aggravation of an injury was changed by the 2006 amendments, effective August 25, 2006.
For injuries before August 25, 2006, all that was necessary to participate was that the condition was “aggravated”, or made worse, by the injury.
For injuries on or after August 25, 2006, R.C. §4123.01(C)(4) requires that there be a “substantial aggravation” for an aggravation to be compensable.
R.C. § 4123.01(C)(4) also requires that the substantial aggravation “must be documented by objective diagnostic findings, objective clinical findings, or objective test results.” Subjective complaints can be considered as evidence, but only if the required objective evidence exists.
Before the 2006 amendments, if an aggravation was allowed, then workers' compensation was paid for the entire injury.
For substantial aggravation claims arising on or after August 25, 2006, R.C. § 4123.54(G) provides that no workers' compensation can be paid for a substantial aggravation of a preexisting condition once the pre-existing condition “has returned to a level that would have existed without the injury.”

See our injury page for more information about workers' compensation injuries.