Workers Compensation & Personal Injury

These injuries are the most frequent work-related injuries and are very incapacitating.  They often occur while lifting and twisting.  Sometimes these injuries cause shooting, radiating pain into one or both legs.  Be sure to report all of your symptoms to your medical specialist.

While these injures can be caused by a “whiplash” type impact, they can often occur with heavy lifting.  There may be a shooting or numbing pain in either arm radiating into the fingers.  This injury can cause severe headaches.  Report all of your symptoms to your medical specialist.

These are complex injuries which can occur with lifting, pushing, pulling or repetitive motion.  An MRI with contrast is important for diagnosis, but does not show all injuries.  Often shoulder injuries have similar symptoms as a neck injury.  Shoulder and neck injuries can occur at the same time.  Be sure to report all symptoms to your medical specialist.

These injuries often occur with hyper extension or flexion of the knee joint.  A fall or sudden twisting of the knee can result in injury.  An injury can activate pre-existing wear and tear in the knee, producing pain and swelling.  A dormant or inactive knee problem, activated by a work injury can be compensable in a workers’ compensation claim.

These injuries can often occur with a foreign object, small or large, scratching or puncturing the eye.  They can also occur with chemical substances reaching the eye causing chemical burn.  These injuries should be treated by a medical specialist and can result in a high functional impairment.

Head trauma can manifest itself in many different ways.  In severe cases the diagnoses are more apparent.  Some cases are less obvious and can cause slight changes in mood, vision, dizziness, light sensitivity, and memory loss.  Report all changes to your doctor, no matter how slight.

As new technologies evolve, better artificial limbs become available to improve functionality and quality of life.  The workers’ compensation carrier can be responsible for all prosthetics.  These injuries often include a psychological overlay.  Both the physical and emotional injury can be pursued in a workers’ compensation claim.

The mechanism of injury can result from many different causes such as repetitive use, crush injuries, fall injuries, and pushing and pulling.  Usually there is loss of grip strength and range of motion.  Report all symptoms to your medical specialist.

These injuries can be caused by a single event, overuse, or wear and tear.  They often include bone fractures, sprains and strains, puncture wounds, and cartilage damage.  They can be caused by slipping, falling, overexertion, repetitive motion, stepping on sharp objects, and walking or standing for long periods of time.  Report all symptoms to your medical specialist.

Many injuries can result in psychological trauma or PTSD.  Injuries can leave emotional scars.  The emotional component of an injury can affect your ability to return to work and also impact your family relationships.  PTSD and psychological trauma can be compensable in a workers’ compensation claim.

Not all injuries are caused by a specific event or accident.  Many injuries are the result of repetitive motions.  For example, receiving and shipping employees working under quotas handle hundreds of packages per day.  This repetitive activity can gradually cause significant injury.  These gradual on-set injuries are compensable under workers’ compensation.

Each vertebra in your spine is supported by a disc.  The discs are shock absorbers between the vertebrae.  These discs can rupture, compress, or tear.  The damaged disc can touch or compress upon a nerve root causing serious pain radiating or shooting into a leg or an arm.  Often herniated discs need to be surgically repaired.  A neurosurgical consult is very important.  These injuries can result in significant functional impairment.