Strange as it might seem, injured workers have been awarded lifetime access to free Viagra or other sexual enhancement drugs – much to the consternation of insurance companies.
Before we write this off as yet another example of California’s liberal laws run amok, let’s examine the law. Either as the result of nerve damage (usually in spinal cases) or outright pain from any orthopedic injury, individuals may suffer an impact to activities of “daily living” or “ADLs.” This usually means difficulty in grooming or personal hygiene, but it can also mean sexual activity or a higher threshold of arousal. When this occurs, the injured worker may be entitled to extra monetary benefits as part of his or her claim. He or she may also be entitled to pharmaceuticals to cure or relieve the industrial medical condition. In fact, it may be the side effects of other drugs a person is taking for his injury that causes the sexual dysfunction. Industrial doctors therefore have, on many occasions, prescribed drugs such as Viagra for injured workers, paid for by workers compensation insurers. Before making such a claim however, the injured worker should consider that the testing involved in verifying these claims can be both embarrassing and uncomfortable.
*The above article was published in the June 2012 edition of The Magazine of Santa Clarita ~ www.santaclaritamagazine.com. All rights reserved.
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