With many on-the-job injuries, there is one traumatic event that a worker experiences that causes those injuries. An example could be a construction worker who falls from a ladder. They suffer from internal bleeding and a traumatic brain injury, and they need immediate medical attention. It’s very clear that they were injured on the job.
But with repetitive strain injuries, things can be a bit different. These injuries happen due to constant, repetitive motions that workers are required to perform over and over again. Performing this motion just once doesn’t cause any injury or discomfort at all. But doing it hundreds or thousands of times per day, for years or even decades on end, can eventually cause damage to nerves, tendons, muscles and other tissues.
Tennis elbow
One potential example of this is a condition known as tennis elbow. It gets its name because the repetitive motion of swinging a tennis racket can often cause inflammation and discomfort in the player’s elbow, leading to a loss of strength and power. But the same sort of injury could also happen to a construction worker or a roofer who has to swing a hammer, for instance.
In some senses, these injuries can be a little harder to prove. They don’t happen all at once, and the worker may not even realize that they’re injured when they first start to feel the discomfort. But these injuries are certainly still related to that person‘s employment, and it can be important to get proper medical documentation to show what type of injury it is, how long it is expected to last, what type of treatment is necessary and much more.
Injured workers may have a right to workers’ comp benefits, and they need to know exactly what legal steps to take at this time.