Work-Related Stress Injuries and What Options You Have

Physical stress injuries occur on the job when somebody has been repetitively using a body part, such as an arm or a leg, and an injury results. One of the most common repetitive stress injuries is carpal tunnel syndrome, which occurs when there is compression of the median nerve and the tendons that flex your fingers through the carpal tunnel of your wrist. When you are repetitively using your arm, such as in an office where you are typing all the time, you may experience pain, weakness, and numbness in the hand and wrist. There are also other types of stress injuries such as back injuries caused by heavy lifting, or nerve damage from excessive use of a jackhammer in the construction workplace.

Options for Recovery 

In many cases, you cannot just go and file a lawsuit against your employer if they have not acted negligently and you received a stress injury from the nature of your work. Instead, you would file for workers’ compensation benefits to give you treatment and sustain you while you are out of work. Workers’ compensation benefits are especially helpful for stress injuries because you do not need to prove fault in these cases. No matter what, despite a few exceptions, you are always entitled to these benefits if the workplace caused your injury, without having to prove negligence.

Types of Recovery 

Medical Bills: You may have medical bills from your medical treatment related to the stress injury. Perhaps you needed rehabilitation or surgery. You may be able to recover your medical bills as part of your damages, keeping in mind that your choices of doctors may be limited.

Temporary and Permanent Disability Benefits: Perhaps your injury keeps you from attending work for the first few weeks, or perhaps you will never completely recover. As a result, you could receive either temporary or permanent disability benefits.

Because the workers’ compensation system can be complicated at times and you may find that the amount of benefits you are entitled to are limited, you should speak to an attorney with experience. For years, the attorneys at Maggiano, DiGirolamo & Lizzi have worked on these particular cases and can help you get the workers’ comp benefits you deserve. Call us today for more.