Filing for Disability After Carpal Tunnel or Repetitive Stress Injuries

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Filing for Disability After Carpal Tunnel or Repetitive Stress Injuries

Filing for Disability After Carpal Tunnel or Repetitive Stress Injuries

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common medical condition involving numbness, tingling, or other symptoms in the hand and arm that is the result of a compressed nerve in the carpal tunnel—the narrow passageway on the palm side of your wrist comprised of bones and ligaments. Carpal tunnel syndrome is considered a repetitive stress injury that is usually caused by a person performing the same function repeatedly or being in an awkward position.

Repetitive stress injuries go by a variety of names, including repetitive motion injuries, repetitive strain injuries, regional musculoskeletal disorder, overuse syndrome, cumulative trauma disorder, and occupational overuse syndrome. While these injuries do not involve the types of clearly visible limitations we associate with, say, broken bones, the constraints that carpal tunnel and other repetitive stress injuries place on victims are profound.

As a result, people suffering from a repetitive stress injury can be considered legally disabled. Proving a disability claim due to a repetitive stress injury, however, can be exceptionally difficult for the average person.

Do you need assistance with a long-term disability claim for carpal tunnel syndrome or another repetitive stress injury? You will want to call (215) 858-8440 to schedule a free consultation with Edelstein Martin & Nelson, LLP.

Proving Your Repetitive Stress Injury

A person who is seeking disability benefits for carpal tunnel syndrome or another repetitive stress injury will usually be required to provide medical records that show the impact the injury has on the individual’s ability to perform his or her job. The notes that your primary physician makes about your condition are important, add is your compliance with all recommended treatment.

Filing for Disability After Carpal Tunnel or Repetitive Stress InjuriesDisability benefits are not awarded based purely on the evidence of a repetitive stress injury. Instead, awards are based on proof that the injury affects your ability to do your job.

Some employers will require workers seeking disability benefits to submit to independent medical examinations (IMEs) performed by the employer’s pre-selected physician. While this procedure is referred to as “independent,” such examinations are rarely such. In most cases, doctors are chosen precisely because they will downplay the severity of an injury and state that the employee is cleared to return to work.

You should never submit to an IME without first retaining legal counsel. An attorney may be able to accompany you to your IME and ensure that you do not provide any damaging answers to questions that are otherwise unrelated to your condition.

Again, proving carpal tunnel or any other repetitive stress injury is exceptionally challenging. You will need more than just a doctor stating you have been diagnosed with the condition. You must demonstrate how your injury makes you unable to do your job. An experienced attorney will know how to satisfy these requirements.

Long-Term Disability Insurance Lawyer in Pennsylvania

If you are seeking disability benefits for carpal tunnel syndrome or another repetitive stress injury, it is in your best interest to make sure that you have legal representation. You will want to contact Edelstein Martin & Nelson, LLP.

Our firm has recovered more than $90 million for people just like yourself. Our attorneys can review your case and help you understand all of your legal options when you call (215) 858-8440 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation.