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Navigating Workers' Comp for Shoulder-Related Injuries at Work
According to statistics by the National Safety Council (NSC), there have been more than 226,650 cases of workplace shoulder injuries in 2021-2022. Workers comp for shoulder injury is one of the most common compensation claims in the USA.
Find out how much compensation for shoulder injury at work you can claim. Understand your rights and the claiming process.
Identifying Shoulder Injury Symptoms
It is crucial to identify shoulder injury symptoms in a timely fashion. Some of the most common symptoms of shoulder injury are:
- Sharp or numb pain when moving the shoulder
- Stiffness of shoulder muscles, joints or ligaments. It is one of the determining symptoms of workers comp rotator cuff settlement
- Deformation of shoulder bone
- Swelling of ligaments that is visible over the skin
- Numbness in lower part of the shoulder that affects shoulder mobility.
Exploring Varieties of Work-Related Shoulder Injuries
The common shoulder injuries occurring at work may be:
- Rotator cuff injuries
- Shoulder dislocations
- Fractures
- Impingement syndrome
- Tendonitis
- Bursitis
Root Causes of Shoulder Injuries in the Workplace
Workplace injuries can be difficult to navigate, especially when you have met or developed a workplace injury that requires you to file a workmans comp shoulder injury settlement claim. It is important to understand the root causes of shoulder injuries at the workplace to mitigate them. Root causes of shoulder injuries at the workplace are:
- Inadequate lifting support
- Lifting heavy objects with a poor lifting technique
- Repetitive movements over a long period
- Sudden impact due to an accident at the workplace
- Slipping and falling
- Additional medical conditions that worsen or accelerate shoulder pain
- Overworking
It is important to note that how much is a shoulder injury worth to workers comp varies for each type of the cause mentioned above.
Sectors Prone to Shoulder Injuries
Workers in many industries in the work sector are prone to shoulder injuries. Some of them are:
- Transportation industry
- Construction workers
- Nurses and paramedical staff
- Office workers
- Truck drivers and heavy load industry workers
- Factory workers and manufacturing industry workers
- Paralegals
The settlement for each type of injury would vary according to the severity and type of workplace shoulder injury. For example, for a severe construction worker shoulder injury, the average workers’ comp settlement for shoulder surgery is around $63,234.
Preventing and Treating Shoulder Injuries at Work
Preventive measures such as ensuring safety practices at the workplace and facilitating employees with lifting techniques are some of the best strategies to prevent shoulder injuries at the workplace. The following things can be done to treat a shoulder injury:
- Taking proper rest prescribed by the doctor
- Taking prescribed anti-inflammatory medication
- Regular physiotherapy
- Shoulder surgery for serious injuries
In the cases of workers’ compensation for shoulder injury requiring surgery, the treatment and preventive measures are more intensive than a regular shoulder injury.
Workplace Adjustments Post-Shoulder Injury
It is crucial to have sufficient post-shoulder injury adjustments to ensure a smooth recovery and minimize the risk of complications during recovery. Steps can be taken such as:
- Not lifting load without proper assistance
- Assistive devices at the workplace. The expense for such assistive devices is usually added to your workers comp settlement for shoulder injury.
- Reclining chairs or supportive desk places to ensure you don’t strain your shoulders.
Statistical Overview of Shoulder Injury Reports
It’s the most common type of workplace injury – almost 67% of cases.
What is the average workers’ comp shoulder injury settlement will depend on the type of shoulder injury. On average workers’ comp for shoulder injury includes medical expenses of $25,82 and indemnity for $24,017 which sums up to $49,838.
Eligibility for Workers’ Comp in Kansas City Following a Shoulder Injury
Workers Compensation for Kansas City Employees have four categories for disabilities for workers’ comp eligibility for injuries that fall within the purview of K.S.A. 44-508.
- Temporary Partial Disability: Comp not exceeding $130,000 for an injury not lasting for less than 3 weeks.
- Temporary Partial Disability: It’s for injuries lasting more than 3 weeks.
- Permanent Partial Disability: For loss of use of the shoulder due to workplace injury, 225 off-work weeks are paid.
- Permanent Total Disability: Comp not exceeding $155,000 for a permanent shoulder injury, especially for labrum tear shoulder workers comp settlement claims.
Compensation Prospects for Shoulder Injuries
In Kansas City, you can get the following compensation for shoulder injuries.
Type |
|
workers comp settlement for shoulder surgery | Medical: 155,000 Indemnity: $26,000 |
workers comp settlement for torn rotator cuff | Medical: 75,000 Indemnity: $26,000 |
workers comp settlement for labral tear shoulder | Medical: 130,000 Indemnity: $26,000 |
Comparing Workers' Comp Settlements: With vs. Without Legal Representation
Factors Influencing the Value of Shoulder Injury Claims
Some factors that influence the value of shoulder injury claims are:
- Severity of injury
- Medical cost of diagnosis, treatment, and recovery
- Nature of the injury i.e. Whether it’s temporary or permanent
- The need for assistive devices and adjustments at the workplace to accommodate the employee in the post-injury period.
For example, the average workers comp settlement for rotator cuff surgery is about $150,000 because all of the above-mentioned factors are considered when determining this settlement.
Challenges in Claiming for Work-Related Shoulder Injuries
Claiming workers’ compensation for shoulder injuries can be challenging because:
- It is difficult to establish that it is a workplace-related injury.
- The extent of severity of injury in the long term is challenging to establish.
- Insurance companies and employees give the employees a hard time regarding shoulder injury workers comp settlement claims and try to stall the process using delay tactics.
- The employees fail to meet strict deadlines and submit the claim within time either due to ignorance or since they are in a recovery period.
Employer Tactics to Deny Shoulder Injury Claims
Some of the delay tactics used by employees and insurance companies are:
- Trying to establish that the injury did not result from their work at the workplace.
- Arguing the validity and merits of the medical diagnosis to reduce the payable weeks.
- Trying to bring the employee back to work before their recommended recovery period to deny or avoid benefits promised to the employee under workers comp shoulder injury settlement.
Guided Procedure for Filing a Shoulder Injury Claim
Multiple factors play a significant role in the determination of the amount of a workers comp settlement for shoulder injury which may vary from case to case basis e.g.
✔ Proper filing of a claim plays a vital role in the accurate determination of the amount for settlement of shoulder injuries.
✔ The severity of the injury may contribute to the determination of the settlement amount. Multiple injuries to one shoulder or both may increase the workers compensation for shoulder injury due to the nature and severity of the injury.
✔ The expenses incurred by the worker for the medical treatment of the shoulder injury may impact the settlement amount.
✔ The time lost by the worker during the healing period for the injury may also be taken into account during the determination of the settlement amount. The worker may suffer the impact of the injury both physically and financially. For example, he/she may be entitled to receive compensation for the lost wages when calculating workers compensation settlement for shoulder surgery.
✔ In case of disability or impairment caused due to the shoulder injury, the worker may be entitled to a significant amount in compensation which must be taken into account.
✔ The worker suffering a shoulder injury may not be able to return to his previous job, which may require rehabilitative measures.
✔ Legal representation expenses may also be taken into consideration for the determination of the actual amount. For example, settlement for shoulder replacement workers' comp can be trickier to handle without legal assistance.
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