Whether you adore your job, loathe your job or approach your employment in the spirit of “a job is a job,” chances are that you engage in some of the same tasks repetitively, week in and week out. You may spend a significant amount of time typing, lifting, bending, reaching, sitting in specific positions, utilizing certain tools or even rocking babies.
Regardless of the kinds of stress that you put your body under in order to do your job, it is important to be aware of the ways in which repetitive tasks can cause harm. Over time, that twinge in your lower back, soreness in your wrists, the tension in your neck or the popping sound in your shoulder could evolve into a fully-realized repetitive trauma injury.
Some repetitive trauma injuries are irreversible, while others may heal if a worker takes time to rest, is dedicated to physical therapy, seeks surgical intervention, etc. Managing or recovering from repetitive trauma injuries can require costly medical care, time taken away from work and other investments that may impact the household budget of a worker’s family.
Seeking compensation
Repetitive trauma injuries that are caused by work-related activities render an employee – who is entitled to workers’ compensation insurance coverage – eligible for workers’ comp benefits. Although workers’ comp is most often associated with benefits for accident victims and victims of toxic exposure, employees who sustain work-related repetitive harm are also entitled to benefits.
With that said, proving that a repetitive trauma injury is work-related can be challenging. As a result, repetitive stress claims tend to be scrutinized in ways that on-site accident claims rarely are. Therefore, it can be significantly beneficial for employees who have been injured due to repetitive strain scenarios to seek legal guidance before submitting a claim.
