Back injuries are some of the most common types of injuries that affect people who work in manual labor. Construction workers, roofers, truck drivers, painters, landscapers and farmers all have back injury rates above the industry average, but oftentimes they don’t receive a lot of information about what they should do after they’ve suffered a back injury. We hope to share some more information and provide you with answers in today’s blog.
Spine Injuries At Work
If you check out some of our testimonials, you’ll notice that we have a proven track record of helping workers receive compensation for their spine injuries. If you injure your back at work, you’ll want to make sure you have an experienced team of legal professionals on your side for a number of reasons.
For starters, research suggests that back injuries are more serious than other types of injuries in terms of how long it takes the worker to recover. A recent study found that for your average work injury, it takes the employee 15.7 months to fully recover or reach maximum medical improvement. However, if the injury occurs in the spine, it takes an average of 17.9 months for an injured worker to fully recovery or reach maximum medical improvement. If you’re going to be out longer because of your back injury, you’ll want a legal team who can get you the best claim or settlement.
Along those same lines, the same study found that back injuries typically resulted in a bigger award or settlement to the injured party. After accounting for wage loss, disability, medical bills and other expenses, research revealed that the average worker who suffers a spine injury at work receives an award of $23,600. That’s above the industry average for all work injuries, which comes in at $21,800. If you forgo legal representation and try to file a claim on your own, you may miss out on maximizing your compensation package.
Types Of Compensable Back Injuries
Your spine is a complex structure, which means it can be exposed to a wide variety of injuries. For example, these are just a few of the types of back injuries that you may be compensated for if you suffer them on the job.
- Herniated or Bulging Discs
- Pinched Nerves
- Spinal fractures
- Spinal Disc Degeneration
- Facet Disease
- Sciatica
- Spinal Stenosis
It’s also worth noting that you can file an injury claim if you exacerbated a previous spinal injury while on the job. If you herniated a spinal disc back in college, and then re-injured it while landscaping on the job, you can file an injury claim even though the original injury did not occur at work. There’s a decent chance that the insurance company will deny your initial claim due to the pre-existing condition, but that doesn’t mean you’re not still entitled to benefits. We’ll explain what to do if your initial claim is denied in a future blog.
As you can see, back injuries can be complex, so you shouldn’t try to take on the workers’ compensation system on your own. Hiring a workers’ compensation attorney can actually save you money, and it can also give you peace of mind knowing that someone else is responsible for meeting deadlines so you can focus on recovering. To learn how Hey Workers can help you after a work injury, click here or call us at (844) 439-9675.
