Off The Record – Workers’ Comp – Occupational Disease

Hi everyone. My name is Craig Rosasco, Senior Partner at the Law Firm of Turley, Redmond & Rosasco.

Today we’re going to talk about occupational disease and repetitive stress injuries.

What are occupational disease claims and repetitive stress injuries?

Typically, a paralegal may suffer from repetitive stress injuries in the workplace because they’re typing all day. Or a client may be digging ditches every day and doesn’t have one specific accident, but as a result of digging all day long, they develop lower back problems.

Where else do we see it?

Going up and down ladders repeatedly can lead to ankle problems or knee problems.

The good and the bad with repetitive stress injuries is that because there’s no single accident, most insurance companies will initially deny these claims.

So what must you do?

First, notify your employer of the injury. Then, you’ll need to see a doctor and provide a detailed history of the work you’ve been performing.

What I typically tell my clients is this:

If you work full-time, 40 hours a week, and you’ve been typing for the last six years, with 90% of your workday spent typing, that’s the type of repetitive activity that can develop into a repetitive stress injury.

You have to show the repetitive nature of your job. If you’re typing only 5% of the day, it’s probably not going to support the claim.

What you’re going to need in your medical report is something like this:

“Mary Jo is a paralegal for the Law Firm of Turley, Redmond & Rosasco. She has worked full-time, 40 hours per week, for the last 10 years. She spends approximately 90% of her workday using a computer and performing repetitive hand movements. As a result, she has developed carpal tunnel syndrome, and I believe her carpal tunnel syndrome is directly related to her work activities.”

Once you have that, you have sufficient medical evidence to move forward with the claim.

At that point, I would file a C-3 Employee Claim Form with the Workers’ Compensation Board and begin pursuing the claim with the insurance company because these cases are routinely denied.

That’s why you’re going to need my services.

If you’re in this type of situation, feel free to give me a call.

516-745-5666

We’ll speak to you soon.