Bakersfield Repetitive Stress Injury Lawyer
If you are classified as an employee, California law requires your employer to buy workers’ compensation insurance coverage. That coverage should provide you with certain benefits if you get hurt or sick on the job. The workers’ comp system is broadly designed for acute injuries that happen all at once due to a single traumatic accident, and while chronic injuries that build up over time can still serve as valid grounds for a claim, those claims tend to be more complicated.
Fortunately, you have help available from our Bakersfield repetitive stress injury lawyers seeking the benefits you deserve for the physical harm you have suffered over time as a result of your working conditions. From establishing exactly how your injury happened in the first place to demanding fair benefits for however long your injury disables you, our workers’ comp attorneys could ensure every stage of your claim goes as smoothly for you as possible.
What Kinds of Repetitive Stress Injuries Can Justify Workers’ Comp Claims?
Repetitive stress injuries—sometimes alternatively called repetitive motion injuries—develop over several months or even several years as a particular part of the body repeatedly experiences low-grade trauma. Depending on what part of the body is impacted and what type of motion caused the damage in question, repetitive stress injuries can produce symptoms like tingling and numbness in extremities, loss of muscle strength, swelling, and significant pain that prevents normal use of the affected body part.
Examples of repetitive motion injuries that often serve as grounds for workers’ comp claims include:
- Carpal tunnel syndrome caused by compression of nerves in the wrist stemming from activities like typing
- Tendonitis, or microtears and inflammation of muscle tendons that are particularly common in the upper arms and shoulders
- Bursitis, or inflammation of a bursa sac inside a joint such as the elbow or knee
- Pinched nerves
- Slipped or herniated discs in between the spine’s vertebrae
Our Bakersfield repetitive stress injury attorneys can explain whether and why a particular injury could give rise to this sort of claim during a private initial meeting.
Proving a Repetitive Stress Injury Is Work-Related
One of the most important things legal counsel could help with during this sort of claim is proving that a repetitive stress injury stemmed entirely from a claimant’s working conditions rather than being caused by any other type of trauma. A lack of evidence conclusively proving that this sort of injury is work-related is a common obstacle that sidetracks claims of this nature.
In addition to pay stubs and other records indicating how long someone has worked in a particular position and what tasks they performed there, it can also be important to incorporate testimony from treating physicians about how an injury likely came about and even testimony from coworkers who performed the same tasks and may have sustained similar long-term injuries. The right tactics for a repetitive stress injury claim are something our lawyers in Bakersfield could go into more detail about during a confidential consultation.
Seek Help from a Bakersfield Repetitive Stress Injury Attorney
Repetitive stress injuries may not be as obvious as a broken bone or a sprained ligament, but they can be both extremely painful and debilitating. Even worse, they can present challenges during workers’ comp claims that few other types of injuries do—challenges which, unfortunately, most workers will struggle to overcome alone.
You do not have to pursue your claim alone, nor do you just have to accept whatever benefits your employer’s insurance provider is initially willing to give you. Call today to learn how our Bakersfield repetitive stress injury lawyers could help you maximize the value of your workers’ comp claim.
