What Is A Repetitive Stress Injury?

by condormarketing

Repetitive strain injury (RSI) is a general term for soft-tissue injuries caused by repetitive activity. It is a common condition for people whose work involves repetitive tasks and employers have a duty of care to ensure their employees are protected from RSI. Call us now at (470) 268-5802 Thankfully, our team of skilled and experienced repetitive stress injuries lawyers Atlanta at Bobe & Snell Law Office LLC can tilt the scales in your favor.

Repetitive Stress Injuries Lawyers

by condormarketing

Repetitive Stress Injuries Lawyers

Do you have a recurring work-related injury and have questions regarding your workers’ compensation benefits? Repetitive stress injuries lawyers Atlanta at Bobe & Snell Law Office LLC can provide immediate advice concerning your work-related injury and protect your rights under Georgia law. For legal advice, contact us today at (470) 268-5802 to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation/case review.

Workplace injuries are often associated with a single, life-altering accident, such as a fall from a roof or an engine explosion. However, most work-related injuries develop over time from the cumulative effect of repetitive movements or postures on the job—from keyboarding to scanning groceries, from hammering nails to holding a jackhammer.

Fortunately, employees may get workers’ compensation benefits for repetitive stress injuries (RSIs), if they can show that they suffered such injuries in their work duties.

What Is A Repetitive Stress Injury and What Are The Symptoms?

Repetitive strain injury (RSI) is a general term for soft-tissue injuries caused by repetitive activity. It is a common condition for people whose work involves repetitive tasks and employers have a duty of care to ensure their employees are protected from RSI.

RSI can lead to extended time off work and make carrying out basic daily activities, like getting dressed or driving, difficult. Common types of RSI include conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome, tennis elbow/golfers elbow (epicondylitis), ulnar neuropathy, hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS), and vibration white finger.

Under state workers’ comp systems, RSIs go by different names, such as repetitive strain injuries, overuse injuries, or cumulative trauma (a larger category that includes other injuries that develop over time, like hearing loss from repeated exposure to loud sounds).

Whatever the name, RSIs include many different conditions, including carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis, bursitis, rotator cuff syndrome, trigger finger, lower back pain, epicondylitis (often called tennis elbow), and more.

An RSI may involve any or all of several different symptoms in the affected part of your body, including:

• pain, from tenderness and dull aches to throbbing or acute pains
• numbness
• tingling
• loss of strength or coordination, and
• reduced range of motion or flexibility.

In the early stages, you may not notice any symptoms, or you may experience them only when you are holding a particular posture or doing a particular motion.

Without treatment, you may eventually experience pain, weakness, and other symptoms all the time—even after rest—leaving you unable to do your job or even perform simple actions needed for your daily life.

You can reach out to one of our experienced and reliable repetitive stress injuries lawyers to help you file a claim to seek workers’ compensation for your injury.

Who is at Risk for a Repetitive Stress Injury?

Most people associate RSIs with working on a computer. Given that nowadays several jobs regularly require using a keyboard, mouse, and/or touchscreen, it is no surprise that computer-related cumulative injuries to the hands, wrists, and arms are common.

But RSIs can develop from a wide range of other job tasks that require repeated micro-movements, using vibrating equipment, frequent lifting and carrying, or holding awkward postures.

In addition to the many occupations that involve the use of the computer, other high-risk jobs for RSIs include:

• janitors and housekeeping cleaners
• nurses and health care aides
• firefighters
• warehouse workers
• grocery and stock clerks
• delivery workers
• bus drivers
• construction workers
• railroad workers
• agricultural and meat processing workers
• plumbers and pipefitters
• mechanics
• assembly line workers
• musicians, and
• professional athletes.

Almost any occupation can result in a repetitive stress injury, primarily when employers risk and don’t provide proper safety equipment and a good working environment to prevent these types of trauma injuries.

Even a job that seems relatively safe, like working at a desk or answering phones, can cause serious repetitive stress injuries to employees due to poor sitting posture.

These repetitive motion injuries can suddenly begin to show symptoms or slowly become worse over time. For example, you might start to notice pain in your neck, limbs, or back after only a few hours of work.

You might start feeling numbness or tingling in some regions of your body or notice that you have difficulty performing specific tasks. Unfortunately, you might seek medical attention for your symptoms when there is already severe damage.

Unfortunately, most workers realize late that they have a repetitive strain injury. If you find out that you have suffered a work-related repetitive stress injury, you should seek immediate medical attention, inform your employer, and consult one of our repetitive stress injuries lawyers Atlanta to discuss how you can seek workers’ compensation.

Having an experienced and reputable workers’ comp attorney is essential as it ensures that you receive the workers’ compensation benefits that you deserve. In addition, your lawyer will fight aggressively for your rights and welfare if an employer tries to deny your claim.

When You Suspect a Work-Related Repetitive Stress Injury

It is important to pay attention to any signs and symptoms of an RSI so that it can be caught early on. If you think that your symptoms are related to your job, notify your employer immediately.

You should also see a doctor as soon as possible (though you will have to follow the rules in your state’s workers’ comp system for seeking medical treatment for a work-related injury).

“Toughing it out” or waiting to get care could not only hinder your recovery, but it might also make it more difficult to get workers’ comp benefits. Be sure to tell the doctor what you were doing when you experienced symptoms, as well as the time of day.

The doctor might recommend that you need to stop working for a while or work shorter hours to allow your RSI to get better. The doctor may also prescribe work restrictions, such as frequent breaks, time limits on how long you should do certain tasks, or ergonomic adjustments to your workstation or equipment.

Filing a Workers’ Comp Claim for an RSI

Depending on your state laws, you or your employer will need to file a claim to start your worker’s comp case officially.

RSIs are generally covered under workers’ compensation, but a few states set special limits on cumulative injuries or require employees to meet higher standards for proving their RSIs were caused by work duties rather than other activities in their life.

Each state has its own deadline for filing workers’ comp claims; in the case of cumulative injuries, the time period generally starts when you first experienced some disability (such as missing work or needing medical care) and you knew or should have known that it was caused by your work.

Contact Us To Get Started

If your employer’s insurer balks at paying for your medical care or denies your claim, it would be very important to speak with an experienced workers’ comp attorney to fight for your compensation.

RSIs can be expensive for insurance companies. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, these injuries resulted in the longest absences from work (among the most common workplace injuries) during several years in the early 2000s.

Repetitive Stress Injuries Lawyers

Therefore, insurers often do everything they can to avoid paying benefits. Thankfully, our team of skilled and experienced repetitive stress injuries lawyers Atlanta at Bobe & Snell Law Office LLC can tilt the scales in your favor by developing the proper medical evidence to support your claim.

Call us now at (470) 268-5802 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation/case review today.

Repetitive Stress Injuries Lawyers