Repetitive Trauma Injury

When most people think of work-related injuries, they imagine acute traumatic accidents like falls, heavy equipment injuries, and vehicle collisions. While such incidents do account for a large portion of the workplace accidents reported each year in California, the majority of work injury claims pertain to medical conditions acquired over time.

Legal Counsel for San Bernardino Workers’ Compensation Claims for Repetitive Trauma

A repetitive trauma or repetitive stress injury is a medical issue that manifests gradually due to the nature of an employee’s work. Whenever a person is required to perform the same physical tasks each day to complete their job duties, the parts of their bodies they use the most to perform this work will begin to deteriorate. Repetitive trauma injuries tend to afflict the soft tissues of the body, such as the muscles, tendons, and ligaments.

While some repetitive trauma injuries can be managed with medication and physical therapies, others can progress to the point that they are incredibly painful and very disruptive to the victim’s life. Some people who suffer repetitive trauma injuries are unable to work while they recover, and some require surgical procedures that can entail very long recovery times.

Finding Legal Counsel for Your Workers’ Compensation Claim in San Bernardino

California law requires almost every business to have workers’ compensation insurance. This insurance serves two main purposes. First, it protects insured employers from civil suits for their employees’ workplace injuries. Second, it provides financial compensation to those injured workers to help them recover. If you suffer any injury at work, you can file a workers’ compensation claim to help handle your medical expenses and offset the economic impact of your inability to work while you recover. The same rule applies to repetitive trauma injuries that appear over time, but proving that these injuries are the results of work-related duties can be difficult for some people.

Kampf, Schiavone & Associates can help navigate the workers’ compensation claim filing with confidence. Throughout the years of our firm’s operation, we have assisted many past clients with their workers’ compensation claims, and we know the challenges you are likely to face in your efforts to secure benefits. Our team can help file your claim, gathering the evidence needed to prove that your condition resulted from your work duties. We can also ensure your benefits determination is fair and reasonable under the terms of your employer’s policy.

Filing a Workers’ Compensation Claim for a Repetitive Trauma Injury

Filing a claim for workers’ compensation benefits in San Bernardino is very similar to the process of filing any other type of insurance claim. However, the injured worker faces an additional complication to this process in the form of their employer’s involvement. Under California law, the employer has several legal duties they owe to their injured worker. They must file a formal incident report documenting their injury, and they must provide the worker with any materials needed to file their claim.

While most employers in San Bernardino handle these claims in good faith and help their workers as much as possible, others do not, and some go as far as to directly interfere with their employees’ workers’ compensation claims. An employer who retaliates against an injured worker illegally, such as firing them for requesting workers’ compensation claim forms, faces severe legal repercussions.

If your employer is helpful to your situation and fulfills their responsibilities in good faith, you still face the challenge of dealing with their insurance carrier. Most insurance companies will look for any reasons they can find to deny claims or justify the lowest possible settlement amounts. Having a San Bernardino repetitive trauma injury attorney assisting you can significantly reduce the chances of encountering such issues with your claim.

Workers’ Compensation Benefits Available to San Bernardino Claimants

A successful workers’ compensation claim in San Bernardino can yield two types of benefits to the claimant. Once they have proven their injury was a direct result of their work duties, the insurance company will pay for any and all medical care they need to recover as fully as possible. This includes immediate and future medical care if they need ongoing rehabilitative care. Your San Bernardino repetitive trauma injury attorney can ensure that you receive appropriate compensation for all the medical care you require.

The second form of benefits available through workers’ compensation is ongoing disability benefits. This aspect of the benefits determination is meant to offset the claimant’s loss of earning power if they cannot earn as much income or work at all as they recover from their injury. In California, most claimants will qualify to receive roughly two-thirds of their average weekly wage in weekly disability benefits if they cannot work at all while they recover.

Some claimants are able to continue working, but they cannot earn as much income or must accept lower-paying light duty during recovery. If this applies to your case, you can receive partial disability benefits that can make up for the difference in your earning power. If you qualify for partial disability benefits, you must report your earnings can keep the insurance company informed about your recovery progress to maintain eligibility for these benefits.

While most injured workers in San Bernardino cannot file civil suits against their employers in response to their workplace injuries, there are some exceptions to this rule. If a specific party directly caused your injury, you may have a personal injury claim against them that would enable you to recover compensation for damages that workers’ compensation won’t cover, such as your pain and suffering.

When you select Kampf, Schiavone & Associates to manage your case, we will thoroughly explore every possible avenue of recovery on your behalf. Our goal in every case we accept is to help our client recover as fully as California law allows. Whether you believe a workers’ compensation claim will be sufficient or you will need to make a personal injury claim, we can help. The sooner you connect with our firm, the sooner we can start guiding you toward the compensation you legally deserve.

 Repetitive Stress Lawyer FAQs

Q: What Are the Most Common Repetitive Trauma Injuries?

A: The most commonly reported repetitive trauma injuries are tendonitis, a condition afflicting the tendons that connect muscle groups, and bursitis, a condition affecting the cushion-like tissues surrounding the joints of the body. Either of these conditions can gradually manifest over time due to work-related duties. If you believe your tendonitis, bursitis, or other repetitive trauma injury resulted from your work, you have grounds to pursue a workers’ compensation claim.

Q: What Are Common Symptoms of Repetitive Trauma Injuries?

A: Any type of repetitive trauma injury can be very painful, and pain may not abate very much, even with the consistent use of standard painkillers. Repetitive trauma injuries can make it difficult to move the affected region of the body, reduce flexibility, and diminish lifting power and mobility. The location and severity of the injury typically inform the scope of the victim’s symptoms and how long they will last.

Q: How Do I Prove My Repetitive Trauma Injury Resulted From Work?

A: If you believe a repetitive trauma injury manifested from your work-related duties, you will need to prove this is the case with dated medical records and possibly input from expert witnesses. Your San Bernardino repetitive trauma injury attorney can help gather any evidence you may need to firmly prove how your condition arose before guiding you through the workers’ compensation claim process.

Q: Can I Sue for a Repetitive Trauma Injury?

A: Typically, if an employee suffers an injury from their work, they can file a workers’ compensation claim through their employer to recover benefits. However, they can only file a civil suit against their employer under very specific conditions. If your employer directly and intentionally caused the injury somehow, or if they failed to uphold applicable workplace regulations that could have prevented you from acquiring the injury, you may have a valid claim. Consult your San Bernardino repetitive trauma injury attorney to determine the full scope of your options for legal recourse for this kind of work-related injury.

Q: How Much Will It Cost to Hire a San Bernardino Repetitive Trauma Injury Attorney?

A: The attorneys at Kampf, Schiavone & Associates accept workers’ compensation claims and personal injury claims on a contingency fee basis. With this billing system, our client only pays a fee once we win their case, and the fee they pay is a portion of the total compensation we secure on their behalf. This prevents securing legal counsel from adding to your financial challenges in the aftermath of a workplace injury in San Bernardino and allows you to approach your case with confidence.

The attorneys at Kampf, Schiavone & Associates have helped numerous clients recover from their workplace injuries. We have assisted clients with not only claims pertaining to acute traumatic injuries but also medical conditions that gradually appear over time. If you believe you acquired any repetitive trauma injury from work, we can help you secure the benefits you need to recover as fully as possible. Contact our team today and schedule a free consultation with a trustworthy San Bernardino repetitive trauma injury attorney.