Not all workplace injuries happen abruptly, with sudden trauma.
In fact, acute injuries from accidents on the job may be a relatively uncommon way that workers can get hurt. When a worker falls off a girder or is impaled by a forklift, it’s a rare enough event that the story appears on the local evening news broadcast. But your own experience will tell you that the aches and pains that develop from lifting too much, sitting in an office chair for too long, or straining to control heavy machinery are common in every workplace.
We call these conditions by many different names, such as cumulative trauma injuries or repetitive stress injuries. Most people do not realize that the Pennsylvania workers’ compensation program covers these gradual injuries just as fully as it covers workplace accidents.
A Broad Spectrum of Pain
Every time the body is exposed to physical strain, vibration, or stressful postures, there is the possibility of microscopic injury to key body systems. In the normal course of events, this micro-trauma would be repaired soon enough by the body’s natural healing processes. But if the same cause of micro-trauma is repeated day-after-day in the workplace, the body doesn’t get the opportunity to repair old damage before a new, tiny injury is added.
Over time, this wear and tear adds up. The resulting stress on the nerves and tissues produces pain that ranges from a mild, nagging annoyance to a constant, fiery torment. The intensity of the pain can be all out of proportion to the apparent cause.
Among the most common of these cumulative trauma conditions are:
- Bursitis
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Cervical radiculopathy
- Cubital tunnel syndrome
- Myofascial pain
- Tendinitis
- Tenosynovitis
Struggling to Get Your Fair Workers’ Comp Benefits for a Gradual Injury in Pennsylvania
Repetitive motion injuries may leave a worker completely disabled. Getting that disability acknowledged is a different task entirely.
The Pennsylvania workers’ compensation program was created to ensure injured workers would receive fair payment for their medical bills and lost income. So one might think that claiming workers’ comp benefits for a cumulative trauma condition would be routine.
Think again. Pennsylvania employers and their workers’ compensation insurance companies regularly deny claims for gradual injuries by claiming that those injuries are not really job-related. It’s possible to fight back and secure the benefits an injured worker needs, but that’s a task best suited for someone with deep experience with handling workers’ compensation matters.
Our Harrisburg personal injury attorneys at Schmidt Kramer have precisely that level of experience in securing workers’ compensation claims for hundreds of satisfied past clients. If you are suffering from occupational repetitive stress injuries, there’s no reason you should suffer needlessly a day more than you have to. You can call us today to take advantage of our experience from the start, rather than wait for your claim to be denied by the insurance officials. Call our Harrisburg office today at (717) 888-8888 toll-free to begin.