Getting Workers’ Compensation for Repetitive Strain Injuries in Pennsylvania

Repetitive stress or repetitive strain injuries are a common area of injuries that you might sustain from work.  Many jobs tasks, from product assembly to typing to steering a vehicle, can all cause repetitive stress or repetitive strain on the body, justifying Workers’ Comp benefits if a serious injury develops.

Repetitive strain injuries can be covered under Workers’ Compensation if they are work-related – i.e. if work tasks caused the injuries.  Proving that an injury was work-related can be difficult in some cases, especially when the injury stems from repetitive tasks you do outside of work as well.  In a claim, you start by notifying your employer of the injury, but your case will often get moved to court.  Ultimately, benefits are only paid for medical care unless the injury keeps you from working and reduces your wages, at which point you can claim lost earnings as well.

For a free review of your potential case, call our Certified Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Lawyers at Cardamone Law by dialing (267) 651-7945.

Qualifying Repetitive Strain Injuries for Workers’ Comp in Pennsylvania

Repetitive strain injuries (RSI) can encompass many different injuries to the bones, tendons, ligaments, muscles, or even nerves.  The commonality here is that they eventually result from repetitive tasks and motions, but the severity and actual tissue impacted can be different in every case.  However, you can claim Workers’ Comp for RSI injuries so long as you can show that the injury was indeed related to your work.

Work-Related Requirement

The core requirement for Workers’ Comp benefits to apply in any case is that the injury has to be work-related.  Repetitive strain can result from many different tasks, varying from industry to industry and job position to job position.  Many people experience carpal tunnel and similar conditions from typing, injuries similar to “tennis elbow” (or sometimes “trucker elbow”) are common from assembly-line work and driving, and other kinds of inflammation or nerve pain can result from other repetitive tasks, too.

Sometimes, these injuries are pretty easily shown to have resulted from work, given that the injury is common for workers in your field.  Other times, we will need medical evidence to show that the tasks and motions that often cause your injury were the ones you performed at your job.

When an accident causes an injury, it can be simple enough to show that the injury occurred in that accident and that the accident happened while performing work tasks.  With repetitive strain injuries, you might not have one acute accident or incident you can point to, potentially making it harder to connect the injury to your work.

Tasks Outside of Work

Sometimes a repetitive strain injury results from tasks you do at work that you might also do outside of work.  For example, typing and driving are common causes of RSIs, but they are also common tasks we do outside of work as well.  The fact that other conditions outside of your work might have contributed to an injury does not make it any less “work-related,” and you can still file a claim for work-related injuries that might have some influence from work tasks and some influence from tasks outside of work.

Claim Process for Workers’ Comp from an RSI in Pennsylvania

Whenever you file a Workers’ Comp claim, it starts with notice to your employer.  You must notify them as soon as you can of your injury so that they can file the claim with their insurance carrier.  From there, the carrier will often reject the claim, and we can file a Petition for Benefits with a Workers’ Comp Judge to have the case reviewed in court.

This often leads to a hearing, which will be the time to present medical evidence and evidence of your condition, all linking it to your work tasks and showing that the condition is severe enough to require benefits.  The insurance carrier and your employer will often contest your claim or challenge the work-relatedness, leaving the decision to the judge.

If the judge rules against you, you can appeal your case to the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board and then to the Commonwealth Court if you continue to face negative rulings.

More likely, however, is that the insurance carrier will offer you a settlement.  Our Philadelphia Workers’ Comp lawyers can review the offer and potentially negotiate for a higher settlement to make sure that there is enough money in the settlement to cover your future medical care and lost earnings.

Qualifying for Wage-Loss Benefits for Repetitive Stress Injuries in Pennsylvania

Medical coverage should be paid for any work-related injuries, but replacement wages are not always covered for every injury case.  Before you can get these benefits, you have to show that the injury actually keeps you from working.

Many repetitive strain injuries will stop a worker in their tracks, making it hard to pull off whatever motion caused the injury.  In some cases, it will be physically impossible; in others, it will be extremely painful.  In either case, this is going to likely sideline you or make it harder to do your job at full speed, resulting in time to rest or potentially even a total inability to return to work.

It is only when your injury keeps you from working for at least 7 days that you can start receiving wage-loss benefits, though you can recover benefits for the first 7 days if your injury keeps you from working for at least 14 days.

Wage-loss benefits are typically paid at a rate equal to 2/3 of your average wage, subject to caps.  If you can still work at a reduced pace or with light-duty tasks, your benefits equal 2/3 of the difference between your old and current wages.

Some RSIs may justify accommodations at work that help you keep working and prevent the need for time off.  If there is no lost work and no lost earnings, then these benefits will be unnecessary, but you should be able to still get your medical care for the RSI covered.

Call Our RSI Workers’ Comp Lawyers in Pennsylvania Today

Call Cardamone Law at (267) 651-7945 for a free review of your potential case with our Bucks County, PA Workers’ Comp lawyers.