Common Workers Compensation Injuries
Attorney Richard Jaffe Helps Injured Employees Get Back on Track
It's difficult to put a price tag on back injuries, repetitive stress injuries, a heart attack, stroke or any other type of injury sustained while on-the-job. But at the Law Offices of Richard A. Jaffe, LLC, we understand that this practice is the way that Workers' Compensation works. It puts a value on things where cost is truly impossible to calculate. Every day, workers in Philadelphia and across the five-county area face the following types of injuries:
It is important to seek treatment right away, even if you think your injury or condition is minor. Your health comes first, and immediate medical intervention may prevent long-term damage. Moreover, receiving full Workers' Compensation benefits requires that you show a direct connection between your work activities and the injury. Waiting too long to seek treatment may give your employer reason to doubt your claim and deny the benefits you need. That's why you need a workers' compensation attorney with experience and integrity on your side.
Back, Neck and Shoulder Injuries
The most common type of injury suffered on the job is back injury. Whether you are regularly lifting, carrying or moving heavy objects, working a construction job that puts a lot of stress on your back or standing on an assembly line, your job can take a toll on the health and integrity of your back. When you cannot work because of back pain caused by your job, you have a right to seek monetary benefits to cover lost wages as well as medical expenses. We can help get all the benefits that you deserve.
We handle all types of back injury claims arising on the job, including:
- Sprains, strains and soft tissue injury, as well as herniated discs
- Damage to muscles, tendons, joints or discs resulting in lumbar radiculopathy
- Spinal cord trauma, including irritation or swelling, as well as nerve damage or severed spinal cords
- Fractures or broken bones in the back
Elbow, Wrist and Hand Injuries
Whether you work in an industrial or manufacturing facility, warehouse, retail store or office, an elbow, wrist or hand injury suffered at work can make it difficult or impossible to do your job. Under Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation laws, you have a right to pursue benefits when your injuries are work related. Unfortunately, employers and insurance carriers frequently deny or delay claims intentionally, hoping that you will simply drop the matter. Don't try to protect your rights by yourself. You want an experienced and aggressive lawyer to fight for you. We can help.
We offer full-service legal counsel to workers who have suffered any injury to upper limbs or digits, handling cases involving:
- Broken bones or fractures of fingers, hands, arms or elbows
- Tendonitis, ulnar neuropathy or carpal tunnel syndrome resulting from repetitive stress or repetitive motion
- Strains, sprains, torn ligaments and muscle injuries
- Crush injuries caused by industrial or manufacturing equipment
- Amputation or loss of fingers, hands or arms
We will meticulously investigate the causes of your accident, traveling to your place of employment if necessary, to gather all the facts and understand what happened. We will carefully advise you regarding medical treatment so you get the care you need to return to health. Attorney Jaffe will work closely with you to prepare and file your initial Claim Petition and will handle all paperwork required throughout the process, including any filing and handling any appeals of a denied claim. We will also be your voice and advocate in all hearings, depositions or proceedings.
Unlike other injuries, Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) may not be visible to others. You may not require a cast or bandages. External evidence may be absent. Yet Complex Regional Pain Syndrome - also known as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) - is a painful medical condition caused by traumas ranging from car accidents and slip and fall accidents to ongoing repetitive stress injuries. To make matters worse, because CRPS isn't always visible, insurance companies may try to downplay your injuries to reduce your compensation.
CRPS is a neurological disorder that causes chronic pain when increased levels of nerve impulses go to a specific area of the body. The disorder, which is incurable, can dramatically affect an injured worker's skin, joints, bones or muscles. Even though medical experts believe CRPS occurs as a result of dysfunction in the central or peripheral nervous system, proving that an injured worker is suffering from the condition can be difficult without the assistance of an experienced Workers' Compensation attorney.
If you are on your feet at all for your job, you run the risk of suffering an injury that keeps you from working. You may have to lift, move or carry heavy or unwieldy objects, putting significant strain on your knees or ankles. You may be required to stand in the same place, hour after hour, day after day. The repetitive act of twisting and turning can lead to severe tendonitis, torn meniscus and other conditions that make it impossible or extremely painful to do your job.
We handle cases involving all types of lower extremity injuries, including:
- Muscle, tendon or ligament strains, tears or other damage, including tendonitis, meniscal tears, tarsal tunnel syndrome, or complex regional pain syndrome
- Fractures or broken bones
- Contusions, bruises or burns to feet, ankles, legs, knees or hips
- Amputation or loss of toes, feet or legs
We take care of all matters related to a workplace injury claim, gathering and preserving all critical evidence and working with you to prepare and file your initial Claim Petition for benefits, or defending against Petitions filed by the Workers' Compensation carrier to eliminate or reduce your entitlement to benefits. We will help you understand your rights regarding medical care, and will be your advocate in all hearings, depositions or proceedings.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Repetitive Stress Injuries
In modern manufacturing and industrial facilities, efficiency in production usually means an assembly line, where employees perform the same task over and over, hour after hour, day after day, week after week. For many people, such repetitive motions produce unnatural strain on certain parts of the body. Your knees may not be able to take continual bending and lifting, even with relatively light loads. Performing repetitive tasks with your hands or fingers can lead to severe tendonitis, ulnar neuropathy or carpal tunnel syndrome, which is a form of nerve damage.
We take claims involving any type of repetitive motion injury, such as injury from:
- Tasks that require lifting of objects, putting repeated strain on feet, ankles, legs, knees, hips, back, shoulders and elbows
- Jobs that require that you continually pinch, grasp, twist, pull or throw items
- Jobs that require continual keyboard work, resulting in carpal tunnel syndrome
When you cannot work because of the pain caused by repetitive stress or motion in your job, you have the right to seek benefits to cover lost wages as well as the right to secure proper medical care. But demonstrating that your injuries were caused by repetitive motion rather than a single traumatic accident can be difficult. You want an experienced and aggressive attorney to protect your rights.
Amputations, Burns and Facial Disfigurement
When a person suffers facial injury and disfigurement, burn injury or an amputation, these are serious, traumatic injuries that can be extremely challenging for the injured worker. There is trauma related to disfigurement and burns that cannot be easily wiped away or healed. If you suffered scarring, burns or an amputation injury, you may have a right to medical benefits that can include reconstructive surgery, plastic surgery or grafting surgery. Other medical benefits may include treatment with a psychiatrist or psychologist, pain management, the cost of retrofitting a house to accommodate your needs, orthotics and therapy for the trauma.
- Veterinary technicians (vet techs) who have suffered egregious scars after being mauled by dogs
- Factory workers who have suffered amputations from machinery accidents
- Warehouse workers who have had their legs crushed after being run over by a forklift
- Electrical workers who have suffered burns from electrical accidents
- Workers who have suffered severe burns, including chemical burns due to chemical explosions, printing solvent accidents and other kinds of accidents
- Workers who have lost an eye or their hearing as a result of an accident at work
- Other injuries, including back, neck and spine injury, and nerve damage
Under the Workers' Compensation laws of Pennsylvania, if you lose a limb in an accident on the job, suffer hearing loss, or blindness you are entitled to specific benefits, including:
- Payment for all medical treatment, from any surgical procedures required to the cost of prostheses.
- A monetary disability payment for a specified number of weeks. These benefits are payable even if you go back to work or don't miss any work. The length of payments can range from 28 to 410 weeks, plus a healing period of an additional 6 to 25 weeks based on the seriousness of the injury.
If, however, you expect to be unable to work for a long period of time or believe you won't be able to work again, you can file for total disability and seek additional compensation for the specific loss at a later date.
It happens far too often in the workplace: you fall from a ladder or scaffold, or a heavy object falls on you. A large piece of equipment breaks down or malfunctions, or you are injured in a car accident. As a result, you suffer traumatic injury to your spinal cord, leading to temporary or permanent paralysis, paraplegia or quadriplegia. Under the Pennsylvania law, you have a right to benefits for injuries suffered on the job.
At the Law Offices of Richard A. Jaffe, LLC, we handle all matters related to a Workers' Compensation Claim stemming from a spinal cord injury on the job. We will immediately initiate a thorough investigation of the facts and circumstances of your accident, looking at the cause as well as the extent of your injuries. We will work closely with your doctors to determine whether your spinal cord injury will have permanent consequences, and will help you determine whether it is in your best interest to seek a lump sum settlement.
We handle all types of claims involving spinal cord injury, including:
- Permanent paralysis caused by the severing of the spinal cord
- Temporary paralysis, numbness, or loss or deterioration of motor skills due to injury to or swelling along the spinal cord
- Numbness, loss of feeling, motor skill impairment or other conditions resulting from irritation of spinal cord nerves, either from a traumatic accident or repetitive motion or stress
We will work with you throughout the process, preparing and filing all necessary documents and acting as your advocate in all hearings, depositions, meetings or proceedings. No other attorney will work on your case if you retain Richard A. Jaffe.
Trauma to the head can lead to cognitive and physical limitations. Such limitations can last for a short period or a lifetime. If you have suffered a head injury while working, it is incredibly important that you see a doctor and obtain ongoing treatment until your condition is fully resolved or diagnosed.
Head trauma can lead to numerous medical conditions that require immediate and ongoing treatment, including:
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- Difficulty speaking
- Inattentiveness/inability to focus
- Dizziness/nausea
Once you have been hurt, you should notify your employer as soon as possible and then see a doctor. Speak to your employer about your options for treatment or call our experienced attorney to learn if you can use your own doctor.
Vision or hearing injuries can be some of the most difficult work-related injuries to deal with. Vision loss and hearing loss can affect your day-to-day ability to interact with loved ones, result in an inability to collect an income and lead to a lifetime of medical complications and expenses. Even if the hearing or vision loss is only partial, medical treatments to attempt a cure may or may not succeed or even result in further complications for a workplace accident victim looking to file a Workers' Compensation Claim.
What can cause work-related vision and hearing injuries in Philadelphia? A potential list of causes is long and distressing, including the following:
- Explosions
- Car accidents
- Chemical exposure
- Slip and fall accidents
- Exposure to loud noises
If you sustained vision or hearing damage in a workplace accident, you are entitled to Workers' Compensation benefits under Pennsylvania law. The Law Offices of Richard A. Jaffe, LLC will relentlessly pursue compensation for medical bills, lost wages and other specific loss benefits for vision and hearing loss, whether partial or total. If your claim is denied, we will fight tirelessly on your behalf throughout the appeals process. Whatever it takes to secure the benefits you need - and deserve - after sustaining a workplace injury.
For some employees accustomed to high-stress environments, work-related pressure can progress far beyond headaches and ulcers. For some workers, stress can lead to serious, debilitating and potentially life-threatening strokes, heart attacks and other cardiovascular conditions. At the Law Offices of Richard A. Jaffe, LLC, we understand how serious these medical conditions can be for injury victims and loved ones.
Under the Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Act, you may be eligible to receive benefits after suffering a heart attack or stroke. If you can prove that a specific work-related activity or condition contributed to a heart attack, stroke or aggravated heart condition, the Law Offices of Richard A. Jaffe, LLC can collect the medical evidence necessary to prove the extent of your injuries to the Workers' Compensation Carrier or the Workers' Compensation Judge.
Though certain mental health conditions brought on by work can make you qualified to receive Workers' Compensation benefits, most claims based on stress, anxiety or other mental trauma are initially denied. You need an attorney who understands what you need to prove to help you pursue workers' compensation for your work-related mental stress claim.
We will help you seek benefits for any type of mental condition, such as:
- Anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder arising out of a workplace incident, such as experiencing a distinct traumatic incident or an objective reaction to abnormal working conditions
- Mental conditions arising out of physical injury, such as depression or chronic pain related to a chronic or long-term physical injury that keeps you from working
- Mental conditions that lead to physical problems, such as depression or anxiety that leads to hypertension, ulcers, stroke or heart attack