Back injuries are among the most common workplace injuries in Kentucky. Painful back injuries are often caused by work-related wear and tear on muscles, spinal discs, and other soft tissue in the lower back.
If you have suffered a wear and tear injury at work that prevents you from performing your job duties, you may qualify for workers’ compensation benefits. But wear and tear claims are complicated to pursue. You need a knowledgeable lawyer’s help. Because back pain cannot always be depicted with a diagnostic test, many employers will dispute workers’ compensation claims for work-related wear and tear injuries. You need to speak with an experienced workers’ compensation attorney right away if you have a wear and tear claim.
At Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer, we help injured workers with workers’ compensation claims involving wear-and-tear injuries and other serious injuries. Our experienced back injury workers’ comp lawyers are ready to guide you through the Kentucky workers’ compensation system. It takes Kentucky Courage to stand up to an insurance company and fight for just compensation. Our attorneys are known for the Kentucky Courage they bring to each case.
If you have a workers’ comp claim for a wear-and-tear back injury caused by your job duties, contact a Kentucky workers’ compensation attorney today. Schedule a free consultation about seeking the full benefits available by Kentucky law.
What Is a Wear and Tear Injury?
Wear and tear on tendons, muscles, and sensitive nerve tissue caused by repetitive use over an extended period of time can lead to a variety of injuries. These are typically painful sprain and strain injuries of the musculoskeletal system, including joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments, spinal discs, nerves, and blood vessels.
Wear-and-tear injuries are also known as repetitive strain injuries, repetitive motion injuries, cumulative trauma injuries, and work-related musculoskeletal disorders.
Lower back strains and sprains are the most common causes of low back pain. A back injury can cause debilitating loss of flexibility or mobility in some cases. Muscle strains and sprains in the lumbar region are common because the lower back supports the weight of the upper body and is involved in moving, twisting, bending, and lifting.
How Do Back Injuries at Work Occur?
Common workplace back injuries include lower back strains, herniated discs, and pinched nerves.
The two most common factors that contribute to back pain are:
- Force, such as exerting too much force with your back by lifting and/or moving heavy objects.
- Repetition, such as repeating certain movements, which can lead to muscle fatigue or injury.
Undue force and repeated stress on the back can lead to wear-and-tear injuries. Wear and tear is often a factor in jobs that require:
- Heavy lifting
- Repeated lifting, carrying, and pulling
- Bending over desks or other equipment
- Working with heavy machinery
- Standing or walking for entire shifts
Workplace back injuries are also caused by trauma suffered in accidents, such as:
- Slips, trips, and falls
- Falls from roofs, ladders, and elevated platforms
- Scaffolding collapse
- Vehicle accidents
- Being struck by a falling or flying object
- Being thrown by the impact of an explosion
How Can You Prove a Back Injury Is a Result of Wear and Tear?
If your back injury happened gradually because of your job and work conditions, you may have a wear and tear claim and be entitled to workers’ compensation. These can be challenging claims to pursue. Our experienced lawyers know the types of evidence needed to develop your wear and tear claim.
You will need evidence that the degenerative changes to your back are more than would be expected through the normal aging process and that they were caused by your job duties or work conditions.
Our Kentucky Courage attorneys can help you seek a second medical opinion if needed to supplement your medical record regarding the conditions of your job that have contributed to your back pain. The goal is to show that the excessive wear and term to your back occurred as a result of your work or the workplace conditions, leading to back pain.
Workers’ comp benefits include payment of your medical expenses, a portion of lost wages, and disability payments if you cannot return to work. Workers’ compensation insurance provides coverage to injured employees without having to prove that anyone was at fault for causing the injury.
In exchange for businesses purchasing workers’ compensation insurance, Kentucky’s workers’ compensation statutes bar injured workers from suing their employer for a work-related injury, even if their injury was caused by the employer’s negligence.
Kentucky workers’ compensation law says in part, “Injury is defined as any work-related traumatic event or series of events, including cumulative trauma, arising out of and in the course of employment which is the proximate cause of harm evidenced by objective medical findings.”
To prove a back injury caused by cumulative trauma and obtain workers’ comp benefits, you should:
- Contact a Kentucky workers’ compensation lawyer. The Kentucky Labor Cabinet, which administers KY workers’ compensation, says on its own website: “Due to the complexity of the claims process, most injured workers hire an attorney to file a workers’ compensation claim for them.”
- Tell your supervisor and/or employer about your back pain. Report any specific work duties that cause or increase your pain or loss of mobility.
- Get a medical exam. Be sure to tell the doctor about work duties that affect your back, such as lifting, carrying, bending, or stretching. Ask the doctor to put any instructions about limiting work duties in writing.
- Report back to your employer any medical diagnosis or doctor’s orders regarding work. Notify your employer in writing if you have been told not to return to work because of a work-related back condition.
Injured By Your Job’s Wear and Tear in Kentucky? We Can Help
A back injury at work caused by wear and tear should qualify for benefits from the Kentucky workers’ compensation system. But the insurance companies often dispute wear and tear claims. You need to call the Kentucky workers’ comp attorneys of Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer will help you seek the maximum compensation available. Our attorneys are known for their courage in standing up for injured Kentuckians against big insurance companies.
Call us now at (877) 809-5352 or contact us online to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation and put Kentucky Courage behind your workers’ compensation claim.
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