Know Your Rights: Work Related Carpal Tunnel
US 1
June 20, 2007
James L. Creegan
At one time or another, we’ve all felt that the daily grind of work can be repetitive. However, when your job involves performing the same physical motions over and over with your hands, it can lead to serious and permanent physical injuries such as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. The Supreme Court of New Jersey has ruled that workers who develop permanent injuries over a period of time from the repetitive nature of their work should receive Workers’ Compensation benefits.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is one of the most common and well publicized Repetitive Stress Injuries and it affects workers in a variety of fields in New Jersey. Common causes of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome are repetitive bending of the wrist, repetitive and forceful grasping with the hands and other repetitive movements of the hand and wrist according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the American Medical Association. If your job involves these risk factors, you may start to experience the physical complaints associated with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. These include numbness, tingling or pain starting in the fingers and hands that can extend up the arms, often worsening at night. Treatment ranges from wearing wrist splints to a surgical release of the carpal tunnel, the area surrounding the nerve running into the hand.
The three specific Workers’ Compensation benefits you are entitled to if you develop these symptoms as a result of performing your job are medical treatment provided by your employer, temporary disability benefits and a monetary award based on the degree of permanent injury.
Whole industries have sprung up designed solely to prevent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, but despite efforts at prevention, this is still a prevalent workplace injury. Typing on a computer keyboard is probably the most well known cause of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, but it is just one of many jobs that can lead to this problem. Other professions that can place you at risk for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome include factory work assembling small machine parts, laundry room clerks that spend their days folding and lifting laundry, construction workers that use a jackhammer, drill or other tools on a repetitive basis, sign makers who assemble and install street signs for municipalities or electricians that are constantly manipulating wires and tools with their hands. Many other jobs that involve constant stress on the hands and wrists have led to Carpal Tunnel complaints.
If you think you have developed Carpal Tunnel Syndrome you should report this to your employer immediately and request medical treatment. If your employer will not send you to a doctor for treatment you should consult your primary care physician. These injuries are often denied by employers’ insurance carriers as unrelated to work and there are even doctors who believe that repetitive use of the hands does not cause Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Fortunately for workers, the Supreme Court of New Jersey, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the American Medical Association all disagree.
If you develop Carpal Tunnel Syndrome as a result of doing your job on a daily basis, you are entitled to Workers’ Compensation benefits. At Stark & Stark we are experienced in these matters and would be pleased to discuss your particular circumstances. We provide free consultations to inform you of your rights and obligations under the law and strongly recommend that you call us today if you have been hurt at work.
Reprinted by permission of US 1, June 20, 2007
June 20, 2007
James L. Creegan
At one time or another, we’ve all felt that the daily grind of work can be repetitive. However, when your job involves performing the same physical motions over and over with your hands, it can lead to serious and permanent physical injuries such as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. The Supreme Court of New Jersey has ruled that workers who develop permanent injuries over a period of time from the repetitive nature of their work should receive Workers’ Compensation benefits.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is one of the most common and well publicized Repetitive Stress Injuries and it affects workers in a variety of fields in New Jersey. Common causes of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome are repetitive bending of the wrist, repetitive and forceful grasping with the hands and other repetitive movements of the hand and wrist according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the American Medical Association. If your job involves these risk factors, you may start to experience the physical complaints associated with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. These include numbness, tingling or pain starting in the fingers and hands that can extend up the arms, often worsening at night. Treatment ranges from wearing wrist splints to a surgical release of the carpal tunnel, the area surrounding the nerve running into the hand.
The three specific Workers’ Compensation benefits you are entitled to if you develop these symptoms as a result of performing your job are medical treatment provided by your employer, temporary disability benefits and a monetary award based on the degree of permanent injury.
Whole industries have sprung up designed solely to prevent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, but despite efforts at prevention, this is still a prevalent workplace injury. Typing on a computer keyboard is probably the most well known cause of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, but it is just one of many jobs that can lead to this problem. Other professions that can place you at risk for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome include factory work assembling small machine parts, laundry room clerks that spend their days folding and lifting laundry, construction workers that use a jackhammer, drill or other tools on a repetitive basis, sign makers who assemble and install street signs for municipalities or electricians that are constantly manipulating wires and tools with their hands. Many other jobs that involve constant stress on the hands and wrists have led to Carpal Tunnel complaints.
If you think you have developed Carpal Tunnel Syndrome you should report this to your employer immediately and request medical treatment. If your employer will not send you to a doctor for treatment you should consult your primary care physician. These injuries are often denied by employers’ insurance carriers as unrelated to work and there are even doctors who believe that repetitive use of the hands does not cause Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Fortunately for workers, the Supreme Court of New Jersey, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the American Medical Association all disagree.
If you develop Carpal Tunnel Syndrome as a result of doing your job on a daily basis, you are entitled to Workers’ Compensation benefits. At Stark & Stark we are experienced in these matters and would be pleased to discuss your particular circumstances. We provide free consultations to inform you of your rights and obligations under the law and strongly recommend that you call us today if you have been hurt at work.
Reprinted by permission of US 1, June 20, 2007
