Obtaining Benefits For Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Sufferers

Carpal tunnel most commonly occurs in jobs with a lot of repetitive motion

, like assembly line work, but is especially prevalent in jobs where heavy typing is involved. The syndrome is considered an occupational disease or illness because it occurs over an extended period of time and is not a specific injury incurred on the jobsite.

If you think that you have carpal tunnel syndrome due to work related activities, workers' compensation rules in most states require that you report it to your employer within a specific time frame in order to maintain eligibility for workers' comp benefits. You should notify your employer as soon as you are aware of your carpal tunnel . A worker's comp attorney or your state's workers' comp agency can help you navigate your state's laws and provisions.

A doctor will perform tests on your suspected carpal tunnel in order to give you a disability percentage. The rate of your disability percentage dictates the level of workers' comp that you might receive. These percentages are subjective in nature and many workers find that their percentages are lower than they initially expected and thus workers are often left looking for another job.

Roget, a paralegal, is a prime example of the frustrating nature of trying to obtain workers' comp benefits. A year into her job as a paralegal at a small law firm, Roget began experiencing pain in her right wrist, which grew more acute as time went on. Roget notified her supervising attorney, who instructed her to meet with the firm's human resource department to discuss workers' comp options.

Meeting with human resources led Roget to an orthopedic surgeon who performed an MRI of Roget's wrist and diagnosed her with carpal tunnel syndrome. The surgeon recommended that Roget be given duties that didn't include typing and assigned Roget a rating of 12 percent.

The law firm then transferred Roget into the filing clerk department but Roget's pay, even though it included the 12% disability, was drastically less than her original pay. Roget then sought out the opinions of two other orthopedic surgeons but she could not get her disability rating raised any higher than 25% by the legal firm's insurance company. Frustrated by her inability to be fairly compensated, Roget ultimately decided to leave the firm for other employment.

With so many factors playing into workers' compensation benefits for an occupational disease like carpal tunnel syndrome, and with laws slightly varying from state to state, you should seek out the assistance of a workers comp attorney in your state to ensure maximum compensation.

by: Dylan Taylor

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