Getting What Is Rightfully Yours

It Takes Time: Repetitive Stress Injuries And Getting Workers' Compensation

26 January 2016 by Penny Fisher

You may already know that you are covered by your employer's workers' compensation insurance when you are injured at work. For qualifying injuries, you can be paid a portion of your lost wages while you are unable to work and all of your related medical expenses. Some injuries, however, don't occur in a single incident. Repetitive stress injuries are caused by repeating the same injurious motions time after time, such as in performing assembly line work or typing on a keyboard. The muscles, tendons, ligaments and nerves can become painful and are never able to properly heal due to continuing use. If you believe you are suffering from this type of injury, read on to learn more about the common types of these injuries and how you can get compensation.

Common Repetitive Stress Conditions

• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: The passageway of nerves in your wrist area give this debilitating condition its name and the effects can be felt in not only your wrists but also in your fingers and hands. The nerves become compressed by overuse, which results in swelling, tingling, pain, numbness and itching.
• Bursitis: Overused joints are targeted by this condition, which can sometimes present with a crackling sensation when bending the affected area. Most often the tenderness and pain appear in the knees and elbows.
• Tendinitis: Your range of motion can become severely limited when your tendons become inflamed and reddened by tendinitis. You skin may become warm over the affected area and pain can be both sudden and intermittent.

How to Treat

1. The sooner you seek treatment the better; repetitive stress injuries often worsen over time.
2. Resting the affected area can help the injury to heal. This means keeping that area completely motionless. Apply ice for quick (temporary) relief.
3. Anti-inflammatory medicines are often prescribed, and over-the-counter creams that contain capsaicin (from cayenne peppers) could help.
4. Your doctor may give you a steroid injection, but these are often not recommended for long-term use.
5. For carpal tunnel syndrome conditions that don't respond to less-invasive treatments, a surgical severing of the affected nerves may be called for. This operation "releases" the nerve, and it will eventually heal. The likelihood of a full recovery and a return to your same work position after this surgery is very low, however.

How to Get Compensated

To ensure that you get covered by your workers comp insurance, you must be able to prove that the injury was directly caused by your position at work and the repetitive motions required to perform that work. Make sure that you:

1. Inform your supervisor immediately when you become aware of the injury. This type of injury usually does not go away on its own, so be attuned to any discomfort that seems to be recurring on a regular basis.

2. Make sure that the doctor that treats you understands that this injury is related to your work. It's very important to be consistent with your wording to all medical professionals so that there is no ambiguity about the cause of the injury. Your medical records will be a prime piece of evidence for your workers' compensation claim.

3. Comply with all prescribed medications, treatments and evaluations. Failure to do so could make it appear that your injury is not serious enough to require compensation.

Don't hesitate to contact a workers' comp attorney to assist you in getting the compensation you need and deserve, since this type of injury can be more of a challenge to prove. Visit a local professional like those at Shoap Law Offices for more information.

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