No matter what type of job you have, cumulative trauma and repetitive stress injuries (RSI) can occur. You may work in an office, a factory, doing construction, or teaching in a classroom–there is always a risk. When repetitive motion injuries or cumulative trauma are caused by work, employees have a right to receive Workers’ Compensation benefits.
What is RSI?
RSI are a fast growing occupational injury that develop over time and if left untreated, become a painful and debilitating condition that can even inhibit a workers’ ability to carry out activities of daily living. In the early stages, many people don’t even notice the symptoms—or they only feel them when performing motion or holding a posture. But as time passes, the symptoms get worse and worse often leading to chronic pain. Lifting heavy equipment all day for years—or even something as simple as slouching your back while sitting at a can lead to repetitive strain injuries.
Types of RSI
There are over 100 types of RSI’s that individuals can develop that may affect different parts of the body including:
- Trigger finger
- Dystonia
- Bursitis
- Tendonitis
- Ulnar tunnel syndrome
- Tenosynovitis
- Thoracic outlet syndrome
- Nerve entrapment disorders
- Epicondylitis
- Ganglion
Claims for Repetitive Stress Injury
There are some challenges in obtaining benefits because the conditions develop slowly, over time, rather than occurring a single point in time. This is a type of injury frequently denied by the insurance company. It is smart to consider getting a workers’ comp lawyer to officially start a claim. You will need to prove that the RSI was caused by work and not some other activity in your life. Remember, RSI’s are expensive for insurance companies and they will fight having to pay the claim. Making a claim for an RSI is not always straightforward and complications can arise that might derail a claim. Because the bottom line is that injuries which occur over time pose significant challenges to pursuing a claim
Georgia Disability Benefits
The human body does not like repetition—nor does it like to hold postures for a sustained period of time. Muscles and joints need to move in order to stay healthy. If you sit in a certain position or repeatedly perform the same movement an injury will develop over time. These injuries lead to chronic pain and often make it so a person can no longer work. If your doctor decides you have a permanent partial disability, you may be eligible for additional benefits—and Georgia workers’ compensation pays for scheduled and unscheduled losses. Georgia also pays temporary total disability benefits to employees who can’t work for more than seven days. And if you are found to have a permanent and total disability, you will continue to receive weekly payments for life.
If you have experience an injury that you believe to be an RSI from your employment, you might be able to get workers’ comp benefits. Consider hiring a workers’ comp attorney so they can help you through the legal process and direct you to getting proper medical care. A lawyer will help you file all your paperwork and communicate with the insurance company.