Long Beach Carpal Tunnel Injuries Attorney

When most people think of workplace injuries, they imagine acute traumatic injuries such as broken bones, head injuries, internal injuries from falls, and injuries caused by dangerous equipment and vehicles. While such injuries do account for numerous workers’ compensation claims filed in California each year, many people overlook medical conditions acquired from work.

Legal Representation for Long Beach Carpal Tunnel Injury Cases

Under California’s workers’ compensation laws, repetitive stress injuries and repetitive motion injuries are compensable medical conditions. The terms “repetitive motion injury” and “repetitive stress injury” are often used interchangeably to describe any medical condition that arises due to the performance of repetitive manual tasks. Operating certain types of machinery, folding boxes for shipping, performing specific assembly-related tasks, and typing are some of the most commonly reported causes of repetitive stress injuries at work.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Affects Hand and Wrist Joints

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a repetitive stress injury that affects the joints in the hands and wrists. This medical condition is most commonly reported by office workers who need to type for work every day. Due to the overwhelming presence of computer technology in the modern workforce, more people than ever must use computers and type as part of their job duties. As a result, over recent years, carpal tunnel syndrome has become one of the most commonly reported job-related medical complications throughout the US.

If you or a loved one was recently diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome, you might have grounds to file a workers’ compensation claim. However, success with this type of claim is more complex than claims involving acute traumatic injuries that are more easily proven to have resulted from work-related duties. An experienced Long Beach carpal tunnel injury attorney will be a crucial asset as you work toward securing workers’ compensation benefits for your condition.

Why Do I Need a Long Beach Carpal Tunnel Injury Lawyer?

The workers’ compensation claim process may seem fairly straightforward, but the reality is that many injured workers face unexpected challenges as they work toward securing fair compensation for their work-related injuries. Some injured workers unintentionally settle for less than they rightfully deserve due to a lack of awareness of their rights. Insurance companies tend to look for opportunities to reduce a claim payout or deny a claim whenever possible.

Partner With a Lawyer to Improve Your Chances of Winning

Working with a Long Beach carpal tunnel injury attorney significantly improves your chances of success with your workers’ compensation claim. Workers’ compensation is a form of insurance, and dealing with insurance companies is rarely easy or pleasant for claimants who do not have experienced legal counsel advising them. When you choose Pratt Williams to handle your carpal tunnel injury case, we will thoroughly review the details of your situation and help you gather the evidence needed to prove that your condition resulted from performing your job duties. In addition, we will guide you through the claim process and ensure your benefits determination is suitable for your circumstances.

How Much Does a Workers’ Comp Lawyer Cost?

State law limits the amount a workers’ compensation attorney can charge their client. Most workers’ compensation attorneys will only receive 10% to 15% of their client’s total case award as their legal fee in California. The judge handling a case will set the appropriate percentage based on the case’s complexity. Pratt Williams strives to ensure legal counsel is accessible to those who need it most. Therefore, we use a contingency fee billing system. This means a client we represent pays nothing upfront for our legal services and only pays legal fees once we win their case. If we cannot secure a recovery for you, you owe us nothing.

If you are concerned about losing a portion of your total recovery to legal fees, it’s important to remember that an injured worker who has legal representation is likely to secure much more compensation than an injured worker who does not have legal counsel advising them, even after accounting for the cost of legal fees. Therefore, you are not only more likely to succeed with your workers’ compensation claim with the help of a Long Beach carpal tunnel injury lawyer but also more likely to maximize your total recovery.

How Does Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Develop?

Carpal tunnel syndrome is characterized by a wide range of possible symptoms, including:

• Weakness in the hands and wrists. This can lead to the inability to fully grip objects or use the hands effectively for tasks that require fine motor control. This can be one of the most debilitating symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome that prevents victims from performing their job duties effectively.
• Pain and numbness in one or both hands. Everyone who develops carpal tunnel syndrome will experience various levels of pain and discomfort. Some people will experience chronic pain, while others will struggle with flare-ups or pain that gradually increases and decreases under different conditions.
• Tingling or “pins and needles” sensations are sometimes persistent, uncomfortable, and disruptive. Many people with carpal tunnel syndrome will experience this at night, sometimes with enough severity to interrupt sleep.
• Swelling in the fingers. The fingers may swell, or the condition may cause the fingers to feel as though they are swollen, making it difficult for the victim to complete fine motor functions with their hands and fingers.
• Burning and painful tingling sensations throughout the hands and fingers, most commonly affecting the thumb, index, and middle fingers. This symptom can occur periodically and unexpectedly, sometimes to excruciating levels.

One of the most significant challenges workers afflicted by carpal tunnel syndrome face when securing workers’ compensation benefits for this condition is proving that their carpal tunnel syndrome developed because of their job duties. This condition can develop for many reasons, and some people are genetically vulnerable to developing carpal tunnel syndrome due to their family medical history. This condition may also develop from osteoporosis, arthritis, osteoarthritis, and other work-related medical conditions.

Can I File for Workers’ Compensation for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

If you believe your carpal tunnel syndrome developed due to your job duties, you must be able to prove this is the case. Carpal tunnel syndrome is a complex condition that cannot be detected on MRIs or other imaging scans. Instead, diagnosing physicians must rely on close physical examination of the patient’s hands and wrists and careful review of their symptoms to ascertain how they developed their carpal tunnel syndrome. To succeed with your workers’ compensation claim, you should consult a Long Beach carpal tunnel injury lawyer who can help you secure the proof you will need to verify that your job duties caused you to develop carpal tunnel syndrome.

What You Should Expect in a Workers’ Compensation Claim

Once you have developed carpal tunnel syndrome due to your job duties, you must report the issue to your supervisor and request the claim forms you will need to submit to the employer’s workers’ compensation insurance carrier. You technically have 30 days from the date an injury occurs or the date you discover harm from a workplace injury to report the issue. However, it is always best to start the process as soon as possible.

Some people struggle with carpal tunnel syndrome for prolonged periods before acting and reporting their symptoms. The longer you wait, the more doubt will be cast on your claim, and the harder it will be for you to secure fair compensation for your injury. As soon as you start experiencing symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome, it’s a good idea to consult a Long Beach carpal tunnel injury lawyer and start working on your claim.

Your attorney can help you complete the claim forms you must submit to the insurance carrier and help you gather any supplemental documentation you must provide to support your claim. The workers’ compensation insurance carrier will require the claimant to undergo a medical examination from an approved physician in the area. This physician will review the claimant’s symptoms and determine the severity of their carpal tunnel syndrome. In addition, they will provide the claimant with a disability rating that will factor heavily in the insurance company’s benefits determination.

How Do Workers’ Compensation Benefits Work in California?

California state law requires all employers to carry workers’ compensation insurance, and every insurance company has a legal duty to process all claims in good faith. However, this does not necessarily mean that the insurance company will see things the same way you see them. Workers’ compensation generally provides two types of benefits: medical expense coverage and disability benefits.

When it comes to medical expense coverage, the claimant can usually expect the workers’ compensation insurance carrier to cover all medical treatment costs the claimant incurs to heal from their injury or manage their symptoms. Carpal tunnel syndrome is a complex condition that will affect everyone who has it differently. Some people will be able to cope with the condition with necessary treatments and altered job duties that limit stress on the hands and wrists. Others with more advanced carpal tunnel syndrome may need steroid medications, ongoing therapies, or even surgery to mitigate their symptoms.

Disability Benefits Can Be Temporary or Permanent

As far as disability benefits are concerned, these may be awarded temporarily or permanently depending on the severity of the workers’ condition. Temporary disability benefits can continue for up to 104 weeks, but the employee can have these benefit payments spread over five years if their situation calls for such arrangements. Permanent disability benefits are somewhat misleading as these benefit determinations are not precisely permanent and may only continue for up to 14 years. However, workers’ compensation insurance carriers typically only award permanent disability benefits for catastrophic injuries or when a claimant cannot undergo job training for a new position.

Because carpal tunnel syndrome can be very difficult to treat, but many people with this condition are still able to work in some capacity, partial disability benefits are likely in workers’ compensation cases pertaining to carpal tunnel syndrome. If the claimant qualifies for alternative work that does not qualify for the same level of income they earned in their previous position, their workers’ compensation benefits could potentially make up a sizable portion of the difference.

What Is Employer Retaliation?

Employees injured at work and those who develop medical conditions from their job duties have the right to expect their employers’ cooperation with their workers’ compensation claims. Unfortunately, not all employers uphold this responsibility. Some go as far as to directly interfere with employees’ workers’ compensation claims or retaliate against employees who file claims for workers’ compensation benefits.

Employers may be concerned about rising insurance premiums after employees file claims for workers’ compensation benefits. Most workers’ compensation insurance carriers price policyholder premiums similarly to how other insurance companies price their clients’ premiums. The insurance carrier assesses the policyholder’s level of risk and the extent of coverage they want to secure, and the premium rate can fluctuate under certain conditions. However, an injured worker should not face undue retaliation because their employer is worried about their insurance premium increases.

Retaliation can take many forms, but a few of the most common include employee termination, docking the employee’s pay, cutting the employee’s hours, demoting the employee, or being excessively harsh in the employee’s performance reviews. Ultimately, filing a claim for workers’ compensation benefits in good faith is legally protected, and any employer who takes retaliatory action against an employee faces severe legal repercussions. They may face liability for any civil damages the employee incurs due to their actions, and they will also likely face disciplinary action from relevant oversight entities.

If you have developed carpal tunnel syndrome from your work duties and your employer has refused to provide you with workers’ compensation claim materials or otherwise retaliated against you, it’s crucial to speak with an experienced attorney as soon as possible. Your Long Beach carpal tunnel injury attorney can help you determine the best options for legal recourse available in this situation.

Can I Sue for Pain and Suffering From Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

Carpal tunnel syndrome is easily capable of causing a wide range of symptoms that can be both painful and disruptive to everyday life in several ways. Understandably, many people who develop this condition from work wonder whether they can secure compensation for the pain and suffering this condition typically causes.

California’s workers’ compensation laws generally restrict injured workers from suing their employers for workplace injuries and medical conditions developed from performing their job duties. However, there are some exceptions to this. For example, while carpal tunnel syndrome is a medical condition that most often develops because of repetitive stress, some people may develop symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome after suffering acute traumatic injuries to the hands and wrists.

If you suffered such an injury due to intentional misconduct from your employer or a co-worker, you may have grounds for a civil claim you could file outside of and in addition to your workers’ compensation claim. For example, if a third party outside of your workplace caused an injury that eventually resulted in you developing carpal tunnel syndrome, you would have the right to file a third-party personal injury claim against them.

A civil claim filed outside of your workers’ compensation claim can potentially help you recover lost income not covered by your disability benefits, as well as compensation for your pain and suffering. The amount you can receive will depend on the severity of your condition, the extent of your symptoms, and how long your treating physician expects you to experience the adverse effects of the condition.

The right legal team on your side can make a tremendous difference in the quality of your experience with the workers’ compensation claim process and the additional recovery options available to you. For example, carpal tunnel syndrome can be incredibly debilitating, but it is often challenging to prove the extent of the condition. It is also very challenging for workers to prove their conditions manifested because of their job duties.

Pratt Williams has years of experience representing clients throughout the Long Beach, CA, area in many workers’ compensation cases. We understand the unique challenges that carpal tunnel syndrome often presents regarding the worker’s ability to secure compensation for their medical expenses and lost income. We will help you complete your claim forms, gather the additional documentation you may need to support your claim, and guide you through the claim process as efficiently as possible.

Our goal in every workers’ compensation case we accept is to help our clients approach the claim process confidently and maximize their total recovery. When you choose Pratt Williams as your Long Beach workers’ compensation lawyers, we will thoroughly investigate every potential channel of recovery available to you and provide ongoing support and guidance throughout each stage of your case. If you are ready to discuss your situation with a compassionate and experienced team of Long Beach carpal tunnel injury lawyers, contact Pratt Williams today and schedule your consultation with us.