- Disablement (strenuous work)
- Osteoarthritis (hip)
- Tear (labral)
The worker, a police officer, sought medical attention on August 2, 2016 for pain in his right hip. The worker attributed this pain to his work duties which required him to carry a gun belt, which he claimed put significant pressure on his right hip. The worker was diagnosed with a condition of osteoarthritis (OA) and a labral tear, requiring surgical intervention and ultimately a right hip replacement. The issue to be determined was whether the nature of the worker's work duties significantly contributed to the worker's right hip injury as a gradual onset disablement, or whether there was a chance event accident on August 2, 2016, which significantly contributed to the worker's right hip injury.
The appeal was denied.The Panel found that the worker's work duties likely only made the worker's right hip condition more symptomatic or noticeable, but did not cause the injury. The Tribunal Medical Assessor opined that he "did not believe there is any [causal] relationship between the worker's right hip condition and the nature of his work duties other than his work duties making his preexisting hip arthritis more symptomatic". The Panel accepted this opinion.The evidence did not establish the presence of a pre-accident impairment as defined in the aggravation basis policy as "a condition that has produced periods of impairment/disease requiring health care and has caused a disruption in employment (lost time and/or modified work)". Nevertheless, Tribunal jurisprudence provides that entitlement may be granted for an aggravation injury, where a work-related injuring process contributes materially to the aggravation of a pre-existing condition (see Decision No. 1592/01). It is the advancement of the pathology of the pre-existing condition, as a result of the work-related injury, that constitutes an injury by aggravation (see Decision No. 2501/08). Accordingly, for there to be entitlement for an aggravation, there must be evidence that the work duties changed the natural course of the underlying condition. It is not sufficient for the underlying condition to only become more noticeable because of certain activities, as was the case here.Lastly, as there was no evidence of a chance event occasioned by a physical or natural cause, the worker did not have initial entitlement for a right hip injury as a result of a chance event accident on August 2, 2016.