Workers’ Compensation Injuries

A Work Related Injury Can Change Your Life

Each job injury is unique and requires a proper time to heal. You should not feel rushed back to work. We can try to make sure you are not put on light or full duty until you are healed completely. Types of injuries the Injured Workers Law Firm handles include:

• Back Injuries: This can be the most difficult case to prove. Back pain can start out as a mild ache but later the pain severely increases and starts to go down one leg or both. The insurance company may try to say that the intense pain is not related because it wasn’t mentioned in the beginning because the injured person just assumed it was a minor injury. Many times injured workers may have had a sore back in the past but the work accident causes an injury like a herniated disc. Also with severe back injuries, a person will get permanent work restrictions and may not be able to return to work.
• Hand and Wrist Injuries: These injuries affect people’s lives due to the potential of not being able to go back to work doing the same job because the injury caused limited use of dominant hand or both hands. There can be pretty serious consequences from a “small” accident. Carpal tunnel is very hard to prove and a definite causation report from your doctor is needed.
• Paralysis: Our firm has had some very unique claims. Most often these are easily and quickly settled by the insurance carrier. It is the long term medications and care that are needed.
• Knee Injuries: Knee injuries almost always have a wear and tear issue especially if the person is over 40. Active people and or the opposite, sedentary overweight type have good reason for preexisting conditions. Knee injuries, if severe enough, may need knee replacements. Which in most cases means replacement every 10-15 years. Insurance carriers might deny it if it doesn’t continue to treat within that time period and say it’s not relative. Also overcompensation for a bad knee with the other and starting to have problems with other knee can be a field day for the insurance carrier saying it’s not related and deny the claim.
• Rotator Cuff and Shoulder Damage: Rotator cuff tears are a common injury of a complicated joint in the shoulder because of our dependence on the shoulder for many activities. Similar to knee injury, all too often you need more than one surgery for these injuries – especially if you go back to your old job and re-injure it. This is where an insurance carrier will take advantage of a complicated issue. So many people try to live with an injury because of this. This is why a competent attorney who knows the insurance and workers’ compensation law will advise you to do take action as soon as possible.
• Brain Injuries: This is one of the hardest to prove negligence on the employee’s part. An injured worker has burden of proof. This means if they are unconscious, mentally impaired or have loss of memory it is very difficult to prove the injury occurred at work. The next biggest problem is that it can be subtle and take a long time to diagnose that the medical treatment for it gets denied. However, if a severe brain injury has a witness to the accident, then these can be a much larger claim, and an attorney needs to be involved.
• Amputation: This is a horrible life changing condition, that can includes no monetary claim for the injured. In most cases the loss is a finger and you don’t miss any time from work. The benefits usually are very clear, unless it is a crush injury that causes an amputation. Then you may have ligaments and tendons that are torn and you have residual issues which may keep you from doing your present type of work and pay. This is a matter that needs some guidance.
• Chronic Pain: Chronic pain can impair your ability to work or even function on a day to day bases. If you have been injured on the job and now suffer from Chronic Pain, you need to contact an attorney.