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Completing Paperwork For Your Personal Injury Case

Health Conditions That Aren't Easily Linked To Workplace Injuries

29 November 2016

Christopher Wilson

Workers' compensation insurance is meant to compensate all employees injured while in the line of duty. As an employee, however, you can only file a claim if you know that you got your injury on the job. Unfortunately, some injuries aren't easily linked to job conditions; this means many employees suffer in silence without receiving the benefits they deserve. Here are three examples of such injuries:

Hearing Loss

Hearing loss is one of the most overlooked injuries because it occurs gradually (the damage may even span several years) and may not even be easy to link to the work environment. Workplace-related hearing loss is usually caused by repeated exposure to noise. As such, some workers are more prone to hearing loss than others. For example, construction workers, couriers who use motorcycles, and nightclub employees, are particularly susceptible to the damage.

Loud sounds cause hearing loss by damaging the tiny hair cells in the ear; these cells are responsible for detecting sound in the form of vibrations. Unfortunately, these vital cells do not regenerate, which means the damage noise may cause may be permanent.

Heart Attack

When people talk about heart attack causes, they rarely talk about workplace stress. However, your emotional well-being is a great contributor to your physical heart's health. Those who work long hours, hold demanding jobs, and do not enjoy their work are most likely to be affected by stress and its complications.

Both sudden/one-time stress and long-term stress can trigger heart complications. However, it is the long-term stress that is most difficult to link to a heart attack. In fact, not all states recognize the role of emotional stress in heart attacks, which means some states do not compensate workers for such injuries. Fortunately, all states require employers to accommodate employees who have been disabled by stress.

Repetitive Motion Injuries

Lastly, workers who engage in repetitive movements may also suffer injuries that may be difficult to link to the movements that caused them. Just like hearing loss, repetitive movement injuries occur after some time, which is why they may be difficult to link to the workplace. However, there is evidence that repetitive movements cause tiny tears in body tissues, and the accumulation of these tears (after some time) can lead to serious pain or even disability.

The best thing to do is to explore all possible causes of any health issue you develop, especially if you aren't sure of what is making you ill.

Talk to your doctor and explain to them your nature of work to see if your job could have contributed to your injuries. If you do get a connection, talk to a workers' compensation lawyer to help you get what you deserve.

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