Worker's compensation is often awarded to people who suffer some pretty severe work-related injuries. However, there are some health issues that a lot of people do not realize or even know about that fall under worker's compensation laws. If you think you might have one of the following conditions as a result of your job, or it can be linked to your job, consult with a worker's compensation attorney.

Rashes

If you work with chemicals, or you are exposed to chemicals every day as part of your job, those chemicals may be causing your skin condition. The easiest way to find out for sure is to look at the material safety data sheets (MSDS) sheets. If the dangers listed say that various forms of dermatitis can result, there is a very good chance that your rash is related.

If the rash heals up and/or goes away for the most part when you take a week off from work, then your employer needs to do a better job of protecting you against this health issue. If your employer refuses or does not allow you to file for worker's comp benefits, you are entitled to sue. 

Lung and Breathing Problems

In jobs where you are supposed to have a respirator at all times, you should not experience breathing problems. If you consistently wear your respirator at work, but you develop a lung and/or breathing issue, ask your doctor what could have caused it.

If the condition cannot be linked to smoking habits or a health issue that could have developed outside of work, you have to look at your job to see what is going on. Be sure to share with your doctor the nature of your job and what you do so that they can determine whether or not your job is responsible for your lung/breathing problems. If the particulates that you are somehow breathing in at work are at fault, you should be filing for and receiving worker's comp benefits. 

Heat-Related Illnesses

Heat cramps are the first sign that your body cannot cope with the surrounding temperatures, and the cramps are telling you to seek a cooler environment and lots of water. Heat exhaustion comes next, where you pass out, faint, and fall down. Both of these are followed by heat stroke when the issues are not addressed sooner.

Experiencing any of these heat-related illnesses means that your employer needs to take better action to cool your work environment as much as possible and give you frequent breaks to drink lots of water and get off the hot work floor. Better yet, your employer should provide air conditioning or fans to cool things down.

If you suffer any heat-related illnesses while at work, and it causes you additional injuries or missed time from work, you should be getting worker's compensation benefits. If not, contact a worker's compensation attorney such as Bishop Dorfman Kroupa & Bishop PC.