Sep 19, 2026
Workers’ compensation attorney Thomas A. Vaughan explains Florida's “major contributing cause” standard and what injured workers with any prior medical history need to know before they talk to an adjuster.
Orlando, United States, September 19, 2026 -- Most injured workers assume that if they got hurt on the job, their workers' compensation claim will be approved. In Florida, that isn't automatically true with any relevant prior medical history. State law requires the injury be the “major contributing cause” of the current condition, and Orlando workers' compensation attorney Thomas A. Vaughan says that standard remains one of the most frequent reasons Florida workers see benefits reduced or denied.
“A lot of people come to me after they've already told an adjuster about an old back strain from ten years ago, thinking that kind of honesty won't matter,” said Thomas Vaughan, founder of Vaughan Law Group in Orlando, Florida. “The insurance company's medical team is going to find that history either way. The real question is whether the record clearly shows the workplace accident is what actually caused the disability now — and that has to be established early, or it becomes very difficult to fix later.”
Thomas A. Vaughan, founder of Vaughan Law Group, has represented injured workers throughout Central Florida for more than 35 years.
What the “Major Contributing Cause” Standard Requires
Under Florida Statute §440.09(1), a workplace accident must be the major contributing cause of an injured worker's disability or need for treatment for benefits to apply — meaning it must be responsible for more than 50 percent of the current condition, weighed against all other factors combined, including any pre-existing injury or degenerative condition.
A pre-existing condition does not automatically disqualify a claim. Florida law recognizes that a workplace accident can aggravate or accelerate an existing condition, and benefits can still apply. The dispute in most of these cases isn't whether the worker had a prior condition, but whether the medical evidence shows the job incident is now more than half responsible for the disability or treatment being sought.
Why the Standard Trips Up So Many Workers
Attorney Vaughan, a Florida workers' compensation lawyer with more than 35 years of experience, said the pattern is constant: a worker with a documented history of back pain or prior joint surgery suffers a new injury to the same area, and the carrier's medical examiner concludes the symptoms relate to the old condition rather than the new one. Once that opinion is in the file, the burden shifts to the worker to produce equally strong medical evidence.
“This is usually decided in how the medical records are built from the first visit, not in a courtroom,” Attorney Vaughan said. “If the doctor's notes don't address causation directly, the insurance company fills that silence with their own version of events.”
A Former Insurance Defense Attorney's Perspective
Before founding his practice in 1985, Attorney Vaughan spent two years as an assistant state attorney in Florida's Orange/Osceola County and two more years defending insurance companies. That experience gave Florida workers' compensation attorney Thomas Vaughan a direct view of how carriers challenge these exact disputes — insight he's applied for injured workers for the 35-plus years since. Vaughan Law Group is rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell, its highest rating, and handles cases on a contingency basis.
Protecting a Claim
Attorney Vaughan recommends injured workers with relevant prior history disclose it honestly, ask the treating physician to directly address major contributing cause, avoid gaps in treatment, and consult a workers' comp lawyer before giving a recorded statement if a prior injury to the same body part is involved.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does “major contributing cause” mean in a Florida workers' compensation claim?
The workplace accident must be responsible for more than 50 percent of the current disability or need for treatment, compared to all other causes combined. It's the standard set out in Florida Statute §440.09(1).
Can I still get workers' compensation if I had a pre-existing injury?
Yes. Benefits can still apply if the workplace accident aggravated or combined with the prior condition and is the major contributing cause of the current need for treatment.
About Vaughan Law Group
Vaughan Law Group is an AV-rated Orlando, Florida law firm representing injured workers throughout Central Florida in workers' compensation claims, including brain, neurological, orthopedic, chemical exposure, paraplegia, and quadriplegia injuries. Founded by Thomas A. Vaughan, the firm works on contingency, advancing case costs so clients pay nothing unless benefits are secured. Anyone searching for a workers' compensation attorney near me can reach Vaughan Law Group for a free consultation at (407) 648-4535 or visit their website.
Contact Info:
Name: Thomas Vaughan
Email: Send Email
Organization: Vaughan Law Group
Address: 121 S Orange Ave #900, Orlando, FL 32801
Phone: (703) 596-9946
Website: https://vaughanpa.com/
Release ID: 89203771
If you come across any problems, discrepancies, or concerns related to the content contained within this press release that necessitate action or if a press release requires takedown, we strongly encourage you to reach out without delay by contacting [email protected] (it is important to note that this email is the authorized channel for such matters, sending multiple emails to multiple addresses does not necessarily help expedite your request). Our committed team will be readily accessible round-the-clock to address your concerns within 8 hours and take appropriate actions to rectify identified issues or support with press release removals. Ensuring accurate and reliable information remains our unwavering commitment.
Scientists from Imperial College London predict that over 50,000 people died in urban areas across 30 countries, including the UK, as a result of extreme heat.
Read moreThis summer’s heat was the continent’s deadliest by far this century, according to new peer-reviewed estimates.
Read moreA critical security flaw in the programming language underpinning much of the web has prompted a global rush to patch vulnerable systems.
Read moreThe Prince of Wales was marking his Earthshot Prize, to which all of Norton's guests were linked.
Read moreA daily update on the latest business and economic news.
Read moreWhat to know about the AI-detected security bug impacting wide swaths of the internet
Read moreFrom Brazil to the North Sea, economic interests have been edging out climate priorities this week.
Read moreA Japanese spacecraft could become the first ever to bring Martian samples back to Earth.
Read moreUSA-BANKS-AI-AGENTS:US banks are blocking third-party AI agents access to customer accounts, sources say
Read moreA series of lawsuits has created a new de facto regulatory regime as courts order companies like Meta and Google to change their business practices — and pay up.
Read moreRight now, there is probably an AI agent running on a laptop somewhere in your network. It stores API keys and database passwords, can access your internal systems, and works without anyone watching. Nobody reviewed its access. Nobody owns it. If an employee had that much reach with that little oversight, you would call it an insider risk. So why do we still call the agent a productivity tool?
Read moreAttackers are exploiting a zero-day SQL injection flaw in Arista's VeloCloud Orchestrator (VCO), the central management system for VeloCloud SD-WAN networks, the company said in an advisory on October 22. The flaw lets anyone who can log in to the orchestrator, even with a read-only customer account, gain operator privileges, the top level of control over it. For
Read moreYOUR NEWS, OUR NETWORK.
Do you have Great News you want to tell the world?
Be it updates about your business or your community, you can make sure that it’s heard by submitting your story to our network reaching hundreds of news sites across 6 verticals.
