Nerve injuries like ulnar neuropathy and Type II CRPS can lead to ongoing pain and discomfort that makes doing your job impossible. When your injuries are work-related, Workers’ Comp should cover your medical expenses and lost wages.
These claims go through a specialized process instead of being filed as lawsuits. However, lawsuits may also be available if a third-party defendant (i.e., someone other than your employer) caused your injuries. Our lawyers can help you determine what evidence you need to support your claim and how to file. We can also fight to get these claims approved and benefits granted.
Call the Certified Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Lawyers of Cardamone Law today at (267) 651-7945 for your free case assessment.
What Nerve Damage is Covered in a Work Injury Case?
All kinds of nerve injuries and nerve damage can be covered through Workers’ Comp, but these are especially common:
Ulnar Neuropathy
The ulnar nerve runs from your upper arm, around your elbow, into your lower arm. Compression and injury to the nerve can cause numbness, pain, and motor control issues in your forearm and hand.
These injuries often stem from injuries and repetitive use at work, making them clear candidates for Workers’ Compensation claims.
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)
CRPS is an odd condition that is often caused by underlying injuries, but results in the following symptoms in the surrounding area:
- Excess pain
- Discomfort
- Sensitivity to touch and temperature
- Visible changes (e.g., skin and hair texture).
Type II CRPS – also called causalgia – is often caused by underlying nerve injuries, while Type I CRPS – also called reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) – has no underlying nerve damage.
Whichever kind of CRPS you might have, our lawyers can help you seek medical experts who can properly document the injury and provide proof that it was linked to another work injury. This is a necessary part of building a strong Workers’ Comp claim for CRPS.
Brachial Plexus Injuries
Injuries to the brachial plexus – a bundle of nerves in the shoulder – can stem from cramped positions and trauma. When these injuries strike, you might not be able to lift your head straight up or get proper use of your arm.
Sometimes these injuries result in permanent disability, but surgery and therapy might help ease the disability and allow you to return to work. Workers’ Comp should pay for all of this if it occurred because of work tasks.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
If your hands go numb or cause you pain from long hours of typing or other repetitive use of your hands, you might have carpal tunnel. If it was caused by your work, your employer should be the one to cover physical therapy costs and surgical costs.
Carpal tunnel does not always cause lost time at work unless you need time off for surgery, but it may still result in medical benefits. Even though carpal tunnel is not as serious as things like amputations or paralysis, it is still the kind of work injury that Workers’ Comp covers all the time.
Filing a Workers’ Compensation Case for Nerve Damage in Lancaster
Filing a claim might actually happen two or even three times, depending on the progress of your case.
Filing Your Initial Claim
Within 21 days of your injury becoming severe enough that you needed medical attention, report it to your employer. As long as it is reported within 120 days, you can maintain eligibility for your claim, but do act as quickly as possible to avoid issues with pinpointing the actual “date of injury.”
From there, your employer files with their insurance carrier and will accept or deny the claim. If they accept and pay up, then you are okay for now, but you might need a lawyer later for other issues with administration of the claim.
Filing a Formal Claim Petition
If your employer denies your claim, then you can file a formal claim with the Workers’ Comp Office of Adjudication within the Department of Labor and Industry.
Your lawyer should help you prepare this document and file it before the 3-year deadline. This period starts on the date of injury, but you cannot file until your claim has been denied or 21 days went by from your reporting date with no response from your employer.
Filing Lawsuits
You cannot sue your employer, but you can sue outside third parties responsible for your injuries. This must be done within 2 years in most cases.
You file a lawsuit by submitting a complaint in court detailing what happened and how the defendant was responsible. You can file both a lawsuit and a Workers’ Comp claim. The Workers’ Comp case usually goes first and pays some damages, then if the lawsuit compensates some damages twice, you pay back the insurance carrier for what they spent on you.
What Evidence Do You Need to Prove Nerve Damage Cases?
Workers’ Compensation claims are usually built on evidence in two major areas:
Evidence of What Happened
We need to prove that your injury was work-related, which we can do with
- Your testimony
- Witness testimony
- Security camera footage
- Records and reports at work
- Evidence of work tasks and work-related hazards
- Medical records.
Some of this will be taken from the defendant, while other parts will come from doctors’ reports and depositions of witnesses.
Medical Evidence
We also need evidence of
- Your condition
- Your limitations/disability
- What tasks you can and cannot perform with the injury
- How long it will take to heal
- How much work you can perform while it is healing/after it is healed.
Much of this will come from medical exams and be reported to the Workers’ Comp Judge through doctors’ reports. Your employer can also request exams with their own doctors, some of which are referred to as IMEs (independent medical exams).
FAQs for Nerve Damage at Work in Lancaster
What Workers Are Covered for Workers’ Comp?
Workers’ Compensation covers all “employees,” except for federal workers and some specific jobs left out of the Workers’ Comp Act (e.g., realtors). If you work as an independent contractor, you can challenge that classification and potentially get coverage even if your employer is trying to shut you out.
Do You Need to Prove Fault in a Workers’ Compensation Claim?
No. Fault is not a factor, except that you cannot get benefits for an injury you caused yourself on purpose. Fault is only needed in a lawsuit.
Can You Also File a Lawsuit?
Yes, but only against outside third parties. You cannot file a lawsuit against your employer (or a coworker) for work-related injuries.
Call Our Workers’ Compensation Lawyers for Nerve Damage in Lancaster Today
Call (267) 651-7945 to get a free case evaluation from the Workers’ Comp lawyers at Cardamone Law today.
