Carpal Tunnel Workers' Comp Benefits in Kentucky

Many employees perform repetitive motions with their hands and arms for multiple hours each day as part of their jobs. Unfortunately, wear and tear on your hands and wrists can lead to a painful and potentially serious condition known as carpal tunnel syndrome. Even workers in seemingly less physically demanding jobs, such as cashiers, data entry clerks, or office workers, can develop work-related carpal tunnel syndrome.

If you are diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome or another wear and tear injury due to your job in Kentucky, you may be entitled to seek workers’ compensation benefits. Your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance may cover all of your medical treatment after a diagnosis of work-related carpal tunnel syndrome and provide weekly checks for missed time from work. If left untreated, carpal tunnel syndrome injuries generally get worse over time and may eventually lead to permanent injury and disability.

If you need help claiming workers’ comp benefits for carpal tunnel syndrome, turn to the Kentucky workers’ compensation attorneys of Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer. We know that it takes Kentucky Courage to stand up for yourself when you are injured and your employer or an insurance company is disputing your right to benefits. Our attorneys can help you understand the workers’ compensation benefits available to you and gather the medical evidence to build a persuasive case.

We will review the circumstances of your injury and help you pursue every available option for financial compensation. When you contact Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer, you’ll find that the attorneys that you see on our TV ads are the same ones that are here to help you with your case.

Contact our firm today to learn more about your legal options. If you’ve been diagnosed with a wear and tear injury that you sustained due to your work in Lexington, KY, we want to hear from you. We have offices located across Kentucky in Lexington, Somerset, Manchester, South & North London, Hazard, Paducah, Paintsville, Prestonsburg and Princeton.

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Definition of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Carpal tunnel syndrome refers to a medical condition triggered by pressure on the median nerve that runs from your forearm through a tunnel in your wrist known as the carpal tunnel.

This carpal tunnel is a narrow channel between bones, tendons, and ligaments on the palm side of the hand. Carpal tunnel condition is diagnosed more commonly in women because the carpal tunnel is smaller.

In carpal tunnel syndrome, repeated pressure placed on the median nerve can cause inflammation and swelling and debilitating pain, numbness, and weakness in the hand and wrist.

Work-related carpal tunnel syndrome is covered by workers’ compensation. You’ll need a doctor’s diagnosis making the connection between your injury and your job. You will also need to notify your employer promptly of the work-related injury.

If you fail to notify your employer in a timely fashion, the employer or insurance company may try to use the delayed notice of injury to deny your claim.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Symptoms

Carpal tunnel syndrome is characterized by a gradual development of symptoms that get worse. The symptoms may seem mild at first but get progressively more severe without treatment of the affected hand and wrist.

The primary symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome include:

Weakness or loss of hand and grip strength
Numbness or tingling sensation affecting the thumb, index, middle, and/or ring fingers
A sensation that can feel like an electric shock beginning in the fingers and travels up the hand, through the wrist, and into the arm
Sharper tingling sensations when the affected hand is being used
Constant numbness and fingers in the hand, even when not in use
Pain that can make the use of the affected hand and wrist difficult or impossible

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Causes

Pressure or irritation of the median nerve running through the carpal tunnel causes the condition.

In some cases, physical trauma or stress on the hand and wrist causes the syndrome. For example, carpal tunnel syndrome may occur as a secondary complication to injuries or damage to the hand and wrist suffered in an accident.

For many workers, carpal tunnel syndrome is the result of wear and tear or stress on a body part caused by repetitive motions in a workplace.

Workers whose jobs require them to make the same motions with their arm, wrist, and hand over and over during the day are susceptible to wear and tear injuries.

Risk Factors Associated with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Risk factors that may predispose a person to develop carpal tunnel syndrome include:

Prior injuries to the wrist and hand, such as a dislocation or bone fracture
Deformation of the anatomical structures of the hand and wrist due to medical conditions such as arthritis or previous injury
Women have a smaller carpal tunnel than men and are more susceptible to the injury
Nerve-damaging illnesses such as diabetes
Inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis
Side-effects of medications
Natural body fluid retention
Complications from diseases such as thyroid conditions, lymphedema, or kidney failure
Work duties that require repetitive motions of the hand and wrist

Prevention

The best way to prevent the development of carpal tunnel syndrome is to minimize physical stress on the hand and wrist.

Here are some tips that may help reduce the wear and tear on your hand and wrist:

Reduce the force you use. For example, if your job requires typing, try to strike the keys on the keyboard as softly as possible. If you use tools or other instruments, try using a softer grip or installing soft-grip adapters.
Take frequent breaks. Try not to perform the same motions with your hands and wrists for extended periods of time. Remember to stop frequently to stretch your hands and wrists. If possible, try to alternate tasks so that your hands and wrists are performing different motions throughout the day.
Try to avoid bending your wrist upwards or downwards, causing compression of the median nerve. Instead, keep your wrist as close to a straight or middle position as possible. Keep whatever tools or equipment you use as close to your elbow height as possible.
Keep good posture. You can also help relieve stress on the nerves that run into your wrist and hand by maintaining good posture, including using a hand rest beside a computer keyboard to keep your wrists straight and preventing your back from hunching over.
Use tools that don’t strain your wrist. If a tool you work with puts stresses on your wrist, explore whether there are ergonomic alternatives.
Keep your hands warm. You may face a greater risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome if your hands and wrists are cold. If you can’t control the temperature of your working environment, consider wearing gloves to keep your hands and wrists warmer.

Does Workers’ Compensation Cover Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

If you and your Kentucky workers’ comp lawyer can establish that your job duties caused your carpal tunnel syndrome, you may be entitled to file a claim for carpal tunnel syndrome workers’ compensation benefits. Unfortunately, employers and their workers’ compensation insurers often question whether wear and tear injuries that develop gradually occurred as a result of job conditions.

Even though a worker may be required to perform repetitive motions that can lead to a wear and tear injury, an employer or workers’ compensation insurer may point to your other activities outside work that also involve the same repetitive motions. In other words, your employer may use your leisure activities such as sports or hobbies like knitting to argue against your workers’ comp claim. Employers and insurers may also point to other health conditions that the worker has, such as arthritis or diabetes, that can cause or contribute to the development of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Determining whether your condition is properly classified as a workplace injury or as an occupational illness is the first step to getting your carpal tunnel syndrome covered by workers’ compensation.

If you can show that your carpal tunnel syndrome is work-related, you may be entitled to receive benefits such as:

Payment for reasonable and necessary treatment of your carpal tunnel syndrome, including surgeries, physical rehabilitation, pain medication or injections, or medical equipment such as braces
Partial wage replacement if your carpal tunnel syndrome and resulting medical treatment cause you to miss time from work
Disability benefits, if your condition renders you permanently partially or totally disabled from gainful employment
Vocational rehabilitation, if you can be trained to perform other jobs within the physical limitations imposed by your carpal tunnel syndrome

Our knowledgeable workers’ compensation attorneys can review the specifics of your carpal tunnel syndrome diagnosis and discuss the benefits you may seek as part of a carpal tunnel syndrome workers’ compensation claim under Kentucky law.

Contact a Kentucky Carpal Tunnel Workers’ Comp Attorney

If you have been diagnosed with a wear and tear injury from activity at work, you may be entitled to claim workers’ compensation benefits for your injury. You don’t have to fight the insurance companies on your own. Our attorneys are here to help you as we’ve helped many injured workers stand up for their rights.