Muscles, bones, joints, tendons, ligaments, and nerves in our necks allow us to move about and carry out our lives. A person’s daily routine is thrown off balance when they sustain a work related neck injury due to the carelessness or negligence of their employer. Injuries and disorders of the neck can make it impossible to work, exercise, or even sleep, and they can also cause chronic, excruciating pain. The loss of mobility and independence caused by a neck injury can be devastating.
Depending on the extent of the damage, a neck injury can be extremely frustrating or even fatal. A minor injury to the neck can cause severe impairments in mobility and quality of life. A more severe injury to the cervical spine might result in paralysis, unconsciousness, or even death. You are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits if you have experienced a neck injury at work.
Why Do People Get Work Related Neck Injuries?
Workplace mishaps and accidents can cause neck injuries in a variety of ways. Debilitating neck disorders can develop over time as a result of misuse. Work related back injuries and neck injuries are a frequent result of many impact-based incidents. Injuries to the neck, including strains, rips, and sprains, are frequently encountered in the workplace and can negatively impact an employee’s productivity. Injuries to the neck are less common than those to the back, shoulders, arms, and trunk, but they can have long-lasting consequences that cost both employees and employers money. Workers in manufacturing, construction, agriculture, and other physically demanding professions are more likely to sustain neck injuries that require medical care and, in some cases, time away from the job for recovery. Such work related neck injuries can be caused by vehicle collisions, deadly falls from heights, structural failure of a scaffold, injury caused by overuse or constant stress, accidents on the job such as for e.g., construction accidents, lifting heavy loads, accidental tripping and falling, faulty machinery and explosions.
You are eligible for workers’ compensation payments if your neck injury occurred at work or while you were on the clock, regardless of the form of your injury or the reason. If you had a neck injury on the job, do not let your employer or their insurance company intimidate you into accepting less than full compensation.
Injuries to the Neck are Possible Outcomes of Workplace Slip-and-Fall Incidents.
Neck injuries are frequently sustained as the result of slip-and-fall incidents at your workplace or when you are offsite to fulfill a part of your job role on public, private, or commercial property. Typical causes of slip and fall incidents include wet floors, uneven flooring, ice surfaces, and potholes. If you as an employee slip and falls on a wet floor at your workplace, your employer could be held accountable for medical bills, lost wages, and other expenses, including those linked to a possible neck injury. When an employer fails to provide a safe working environment, employees may be entitled to compensation if they sustain an injury, including neck injuries, on the job.
Signs That You May Have Suffered a Work Related Neck Injury
When you first experience the symptoms of a neck injury, you may not even realize it is your neck that is affected. If you’ve hurt your neck, you might notice some of these symptoms in one or both arms: numbness, tingling, or weakness. Your neck may swell or become inflamed, and you may feel pain shooting through your limbs. After seven days, if you’re still experiencing substantial neck pain, it’s conceivable that your injury is severe, and you should visit a doctor.
What Happens When You Suffer a Work Related Neck Injury?
The severity of a neck injury might range from a little strain to a totally disabling one. Depending on the severity of the damage done, many neck injuries can result in long-term issues requiring physical therapy, medication, and other forms of treatment.
Common expenses resulting from neck injury include medical expenses including possible surgery expense, wage loss and potential income loss, reduced mobility, constant discomfort, physiotherapy and cost of therapy for psychological effects of neck injury and loss of mobility.
Aside from the physical expenditures, there may also be intangible mental and psychological costs associated with a neck injury. Stress, worry, despair, and panic attacks are all possible outcomes of a serious life event like being unable to work after suffering a neck injury.
A personal injury lawsuit may be your best option for obtaining a settlement that can reimburse you or a loved one for the physical and financial consequences of a neck injury incurred due to the negligence of your employer.
Filing a Work Related Neck Injury Claim with the Workers’ Compensation Board
If you are hurt and have suffered a neck injury, the first priority is medical care. Then you need to immediately inform your boss. A claim for workers’ compensation payments is the final step. Do not give up if you are rejected; thousands of people are each year. You can appeal to the Workers’ Compensation Board if you disagree with the decision. This is the first step in appealing a benefits refusal that you feel was unfair.
Know that there are rigorous deadlines in place to speed the appeals process along quickly if you decide to take your case to the Oregon Workers’ Compensation Division. While these are meant to speed up the compensation process, in practice they often end up working against claimants by forcing them to sift through mountains of legal and medical paperwork in a short amount of time.
After Sustaining a Work Related Neck Injury in Oregon, How Can an Oregon Workers’ Compensation Attorney Help Me?
An injury sustained at work is distinct from those sustained in other contexts, such as automobile accidents or the result of substandard medical care. There is a unique body of law that governs workplace injuries, and it is closely interpreted to offer speedy and effective remedies to injured workers while shielding businesses from excessive jury verdicts. The system is intended to be cooperative, but it has become combative over time. Big insurance companies will battle tooth and nail to avoid paying workers for injuries that were clearly caused by an accident on the job. If you feel that your employer’s selected physician is not being honest about your injuries, our experienced Oregon workers compensation attorneys at Aldrich Law, LLC can help you get a second opinion, negotiate with the insurance company, represent you in hearings and evidentiary proceedings, and more.
If you’ve suffered a work related neck injury on the job, Aldrich Law, LLC can provide you with an experienced workers’ compensation attorney who will fight for your right to benefits. Our experienced workers’ compensation attorneys at Aldrich Law, LLC will investigate your case, provide support for your workers’ compensation claims, and advocate for you to receive the maximum and fair reimbursement for your work related neck injury.
Our experienced Oregon workers’ compensation attorneys at Aldrich Law, LLC have over 12 years of expertise in workers’ compensation matters. Our experienced Oregon workers’ compensation attorneys can be contacted here.