Repetitive Stress Injuries
Every year in Illinois thousands of workers compensation claims are filed alleging repetitive injuries. These claims allege repetitive stress to, among others, the knees, hips and shoulders. To have a meritorious claim the employee must be able to prove that the repetitive stress he or she places on the injured joint is more than the repetitive stress the general public places on those same joints. For example, Leonard Law Group has represented hundreds of package car drivers who allege repetitive stress injuries to their knee and hip joints as a result of stepping in and out of their package cars up to a hundred times a day. This causes premature wear and tear on their joints and is clearly more stress than the general public places on those same body parts as they perform their everyday work duties. As a result, if x-rays of the knee and hip and joints show end stage bone on bone contact, aka osteoarthritis, an orthopedic specialist hired by Leonard Law Group will be able to credibly testify that the repetitive stress placed on the joint in question is more than that of the general public. This will mean a filed workers compensation claim on behalf of the injured worker will carry merit and ultimately result in a lump sum settlement or trial installment award. Remember, the stress placed on the joint in question must be more than that of the general public. If you cannot overcome this initial threshold your claim will not survive.
Another very common repetitive stress injury is carpal tunnel syndrome. This may be the most common repetitive stress injury filed in Illinois as most persons use their hands constantly while performing their work duties. The key questions in proving a repetitive stress injury to the carpal tunnel is whether the injured workers job duties require fine manipulation with their fingers, the amount of pressure exerted by the fingers in performing their work duties and the amount of time during the work day the fingers exert this pressure. Those will full time jobs are more likely to be successful in pursing these type of repetitive stress claims. Common workers filing these type of claims include data entry personnel, mechanics and those who work with smaller hand tools. This is not to say other occupations do not result in overexertion on the carpal tunnel. The diagnosis of this condition is based on the history provided by the patient, the physical examination findings and an EMG diagnostic test. There are also many risk factors present in developing carpal tunnel including, diabetes, gender, weight, tobacco use, alcohol use, prior fractures of the wrist or hand, being pregnant and menopause.
If you feel your work duties expose you to increased risk of developing the above repetitive conditions or may have aggravated a pre-existing repetitive condition please contact Leonard Law Group at 312-226-8273 for a free case consultation.