Relapse, recurrence or aggravation of an employment injury
A relapse, recurrence or aggravation of an employment injury occurs when the injury reappears or worsens after it has consolidated (healed or stabilized). If you have had a work accident or an occupational disease, this can happen to you.
What is meant by a relapse, a recurrence and an aggravation?
- A relapse is the return, the reappearance of the symptoms of an injury that was in the process of healing.
- A recurrence is the reappearance of an injury after a more or less long period of recovery.
- An aggravation is an increase in the severity of an injury or its effects.
Admissibility of a relapse, recurrence or aggravation
The CNESST determines whether the employment injury is a relapse, a recurrence or an aggravation. To be admissible, you must show that after a past injury or illness had consolidated (healed or stabilized), there:
- has been a change in your medical condition since the injury healed or stabilized
- is something new in terms of treatment, prescribed or administered, that is likely to improve your health
If you think you have had a relapse, a recurrence or an aggravation of an employment injury, you must fill out a Worker's claim form and send it to the CNESST. You must fill out a new claim even if you had already filled one out when your work accident occurred or your occupational disease first appeared.