Workers in warehouses and similar blue-collar job environments, like factories, use their bodies every day to perform their jobs. Like any tools used daily for work, the body will eventually show signs of wear from hard work.
The longer you have stayed with your current employer or performed the same kind of work, the more likely your job responsibilities are to take a toll on your body. Repetitive stress injuries can affect your arms, shoulders, back, hips or knees. Any part of your body that you use repeatedly throughout the day, especially for lifting, gripping or twisting, is vulnerable to injury.
Even if you don’t develop a sudden, severe injury because of a specific incident, you may develop cumulative trauma that presents as a repetitive stress injury like carpal tunnel syndrome. Can workers get workers’ compensation benefits for repetitive stress injuries with no specific date of injury?
Yes, any symptoms caused by your employment can lead to benefits
If your primary care physician is the one that diagnoses you with a repetitive stress injury, you will need to notify your employer of the diagnosis and of any restrictions on your job responsibilities. You will then be able to initiate a workers’ compensation claim. It’s important to act quickly and to get the necessary medical documentation when dealing with a repetitive stress injury.
Through workers’ compensation, you can receive medical coverage and also disability benefits if you need time off of work. In some scenarios, employers can accommodate those with repetitive stress injuries by moving them to a different department or diversifying their daily job responsibilities so that they don’t repetitively do the same task as much.
If you need a leave of absence to allow your body to heal, workers’ compensation can provide you with disability benefits that can replace up to two-thirds of your average weekly wage. In scenarios where a worker will have to move to a lower-paid profession or retire early because of their injuries, workers’ compensation can provide permanent disability benefits, including partial permanent disability benefits for someone’s reduced earning potential.
Knowing when you may qualify for workers’ compensation benefits will help you protect both your financial stability and your long-term quality of life by helping you address injuries on the job before they become a major issue. Reporting an injury or diagnosis with a condition incurred at your warehouse job will help you get benefits for treatment.
