If the ER or your doctor said the injury left you with lasting limits, that medical reality can matter under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) even if an employer or insurance company treats it as old news.

1. The ADA covers ongoing limitations, not just new injuries. An old back injury, hearing loss, nerve damage, or PTSD can qualify if it substantially limits a major life activity like lifting, walking, sleeping, concentrating, or working. The law focuses on your present limitations, not on when the original injury happened.

2. The ADA applies only to covered employers. The federal ADA generally covers private employers, state and local governments, employment agencies, and unions with 15 or more employees. Smaller employers may be covered by state disability laws, which often use different thresholds.

3. The law bans disability discrimination and requires reasonable accommodation. A covered employer cannot refuse to hire, fire, demote, or block advancement because of a qualified disability. It also may have to provide a reasonable accommodation unless doing so creates an undue hardship. Examples include modified schedules, lifting restrictions, reassignment to an open position, or equipment changes.

4. You still must be able to do the job's essential functions. The ADA protects a worker who can perform the job's core duties with or without accommodation. It does not require removal of essential duties, but it does require an interactive process to discuss workable adjustments.

5. Deadlines matter if rights were violated. A charge usually must be filed with the EEOC within 180 days, or 300 days in many states with a parallel agency. A denied accommodation last month may still be timely even if the injury happened years ago.

For example, a welder with an old shoulder injury might still be protected if the condition now limits overhead work and a scheduling or task adjustment would let the person safely perform the job.