Occupational Disease

An occupational disease is defined by statute as “a disease which results directly from the employment or the conditions under which work was performed, which can be seen to have followed as a natural incident of the work and as a result of the exposure occasioned by the nature of the employment, and which can be fairly traced to the employment as a proximate cause and which does not come from a hazard to which the worker would have been equally exposed outside of the employment.” Common examples of occupational diseases are tennis elbow injuries, asbestosis, and trigger thumb problems.  (Section 8-40-201(14),C.R.S.).  See also, “Last Injurious Exposure.”