Some of my clients heard from friends that they can’t get workers compensation benefits for their injury, because there was no specific event. What we mean by a specific event is an injury that occurs when something specific happens at work — you slip and fall at work, you lift something and experience immediate pain, you get
hit by a forklift, you are assaulted by a patient. Those are specific injuries.
However, there are also repetitive injuries. These type of injuries occur because you may do a highly repetitive job and now experience pain, numbness and tingling, or burning in your shoulder, arm, hands, and even your neck. Nothing specific happened to you. You’ve just increasing symptoms because of your job. Repetitive injuries are real. Particularly in Central Pennsylvania in Franklin, Fulton, Adams, and York counties. We have numerous warehouses up and down the I-81 corridor. Often, these type of warehouse jobs lead to repetitive lifting, order assembling, and other highly repetitive activities. They can result in symptoms like carpal tunnel syndrome in your wrist and hands in which you experience numbness and tingling, like needles, tendonitis in your shoulder, numbness and tingling in your elbow. These are very real injuries and they may very well be work-related injuries.
If you can say YES to the following three items, then you may have a work-related repetitive injury: 1) you were an employee at the time of symptoms, 2) symptoms occurred while in the course and scope of your employment, and 3) your doctor agrees that it was caused by your work activities. It is important that if you believe you are suffering from a repetitive type injury, you must tell your employer. Ultimately, you should tell them once you begin experiencing symptoms. After you tell your employer, then seek medical treatment. Finally, call Mooney & Associates right away.
One thing to remember with these type of injuries is they are usually denied by your employer and it’s insurance carrier. They dislike repetitive injuries, despite the fact they are compensable injuries and very real. They use several excuses, such as, you just don’t want to work, your job is not repetitive enough, you have not been here long enough, you had that condition before you started working here, and so on and so on… They may even send you to an IME doctor, who will more than likely say your injury is not work-related. (You can read more about IME’s here)
Don’t get discouraged. Don’t give up. Call Mooney & Associates today to protect your workers compensation rights and get you the benefits you deserve. These workers compensation cases are no different than any other work injury cases, in terms of proceedings. However, there is specific proof needed to prove your case. We stand ready to represent you. Call 1-877-32-4656 for a FREE consultation or email me at mab@mooney4law.com. I can meet you at one of our 12 convenient locations: Chambersburg, Shippensburg, Carlisle, Mercersburg, Harrisburg, Duncannon, Halifax, York, Stewardstown, Hanover, New Oxford, and Gettysburg.
