Can You Get Workers’ Compensation for a Lifting Injury at Work?

Whether you’re lifting food onto shelves at a grocery store, lifting someone into their bed at an assisted living facility, or lifting heavy goods on a construction site, you know the strain that this repetitive motion puts on your body. If you’ve been injured while lifting at work, you’re not alone. It’s likely that you are entitled to compensation for your injuries and time away from work.

Ready to take the next step in your workers’ compensation claim? Let’s talk. Call the Burge & Burge team at 205-251-9000 to talk about your legal options now.

Lifting Injuries Are Very Common

Lifting injuries make up a significant portion of workplace injuries, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These injuries are extremely common among nurses and mechanics but are seen in many other fields as well.

Injuries caused by lifting cost companies and workers’ compensation insurance companies millions every year. Many injuries can be avoided through proper training and supervision, as these accidents tend to happen when employees are untrained in proper lifting mechanics or aren’t corrected when they lift incorrectly.

Whether your lifting injury was the result of your own mistake, a heavy object, or the actions of someone else lifting with you, you are almost certainly entitled to workers’ compensation.

Common Injuries

Since lifting injuries can be observed in almost any industry, you can expect types of injuries to vary quite a bit across the spectrum. For example, the harm suffered by someone hoisting a heavy bag of flour from a shelf is unlikely to be comparable to the harm experienced by someone lifting a machine several times heavier than them.

Some of the most commonly reported workers’ comp lifting injuries include:

• Shoulder impingement syndrome
• Herniated discs
• Back strains and sprains
• Rotator cuff tears
• Patellar tendonitis

As you can see, these diagnoses vary quite a bit in severity, cause, and prognosis. Because of this, it’s crucial to seek immediate medical attention. Otherwise, you risk worsening your injury.

While anyone can experience a lifting-related work injury, certain tasks significantly increase your risk. Risk factors include:

• Working in extreme heat or cold
• Lifting more than 50 pounds without the help of another lifter
• An unbalanced load that is primarily on one arm or shoulder, as this puts significant pressure on the spine
• Loads low to the ground that require the worker to bend before lifting
• Repetitive lifting without rest breaks
• Lifting and holding objects for lengthy periods of tine

Getting the Treatment and Compensation You Are Owed

When it comes to lifting injuries, a surprising amount of people either don’t report the incident or wait to seek medical care. The injury may at first feel like routine work soreness, and employees often wait to report incidents because they don’t want to cause trouble at work. However, doing this can actually make your injury worse and make you spend more time away from work.

For your own health and safety, you must report an injury as soon as it occurs. Your employer can start the appropriate documentation and help you get the care you need at an approved medical facility. If you wait to report your injury, it is much easier for your employer or their insurance company to claim that the injury actually happened outside of work.

Treatment options vary, so time is of the essence. Some injuries, such as sprains and strains, heal on their own as long as you rest and avoid exerting yourself. Others require physical therapy, surgery, or other medical interventions. Continuing to work with an injured back, shoulder, or arm can aggravate your injury and lessen your chances of a full recovery.

The workers’ compensation system should be easy to use, but employers and workers’ compensation insurance companies often try to keep employees from getting the benefits they deserve. When that happens, it’s time to talk to a workers’ compensation attorney.

Discuss Your Workers’ Compensation Claim with Burge & Burge

At Burge & Burge, we are committed to helping injured workers get the compensation they deserve. If you’re ready to find out more about how we can help you, let’s set up a time to meet. Call us at 205-251-9000 or reach out to us online to get started.