Workers Compensation Injuries Orange County
No matter what type of work you do for a living there is the capacity to be injured. Some professional arenas see the same types of injuries and the injuries may vary in other industries. What you do for a living as well as how frequently you do the same tasks play a key role in you suffering an injury. Common Orange County workers compensation injuries are:
Ankle Injury: The ankle, also known as the talocrural joint, connects the 2 lower leg bones to the foot. The ankle bones are called tarsal bones and consist of the talus, calcaneus, navicular, cuboid and cuneiform bones. The ankle is also bound by several ligaments which offer support to various sides of the ankle. The ankle is a fragile bone complex and can easily sustain an injury in the event of an accident such as a fall or a workers compensation auto accident.
Bone Injuries: A very common injury in any type of workers compensation accident is a bone injury. The most common type of bone injury is a fracture or a broken bone. Bone injuries can be the result of many types of accidents such as workers comp car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, assault and falls. Injuries involving any type of bone can be minor or very severe depending on what bone was broken, the type of break, the age and overall health of the victim. A good rule of thumb is the larger the bone the longer the recovery period.
Brain Injury: Traumatic injuries to the brain are typically the end result of moderate, severe or catastrophic force to the head. This force ultimately damages parts and sections of the brain resulting in impaired function, motor skills and diminished cognitive abilities. A brain injury, whether it is minimal or very severe can induce tragic changes in ones quality of life, permanent impairment as well as drastic changes to ones financial security. These effects are often felt by both the victim and their families. Brain injuries can impact the lobes of the brain such as the occipital lobe, temporal lobes and parietal lobes. Brain injuries can also impact parts of the brain such as the axons in a diffuse axonal injury. Headaches due to psychiatric stress, work abuse, harassment, and mistreatment by employers have also been found to have an negative effect on the brain.
Eye Injuries: An injury to the eye does not always involve a vision injury. Eye injuries are extremely serious injuries that will impact your life for years following the injury. Injuries such as total blindness, partial blindness or unilateral blindness can be the ultimate result of an eye injury. Sometimes eye injuries may involve penetrating eye injuries and trauma to the eye socket and other structures.
Head Injuries: A head injury can be either open or closed. Each can be very traumatic and can impact the quality of your life. In a closed head injury, the skull as well as the dura mater remain intact. These injuries are very complicated injuries and extremely difficult, if not impossible, to fully recover from. Commonly, workers’ comp head injuries will lead to workers comp headaches, requiring lifelong medical care and significant workers comp impairment. In severe cases, untreated workers comp head injuries can advance to memory loss, dementia, Alzheimer’s and severe disability.
Hearing Injury: Hearing, like all of our other senses, is very important in getting by in everyday life. Diminished, lost or impaired hearing will greatly impact the quality of our lives. Every aspect of our lives is altered if we experience hearing loss or deafness. Verbal communication, which is very important in our personal and professional lives, is greatly compromised if our hearing is damaged. Sometimes our current jobs, professions or careers can induce hearing loss. Work related auditory injuries commonly cause inner ear damage. The damage can be caused by an isolated incident such as a gunshot or an explosion. Frequently hearing loss stemming from the workplace is caused by a prolonged repeated exposure to loud sounds and noises. It typically does not take long for hearing to be diminished at work. Initially the damage is minimal and may go unnoticed. The range and distance at which a worker can hear is impacted initially. You may not be aware of any change in your hearing ability until it is too late. Work environments such as industrial, manufacturing and construction sites can commonly cause hearing loss. Also, any workplace that uses loud machinery can induce hearing loss.
Heart Attacks: Many times a worker in the Orange County, California will suffer a heart attack while on the job or in the workplace. These heart attacks, also known as myocardial infarctions, can absolutely be a direct result of performing work related duties or activities. Many factors can contribute to a work related heart attack that have nothing to do with genetics, age or lifestyle. These may be stress, extreme overexertion and being forced to carry out tasks that you are physically unable to perform. Heart attacks can result from end organ damage due to hypertension. Sometimes heart attacks occur at home, or outside of the workplace, although they are directly related to work and a valid workers compensation heart claim.
Knee Injury: These injuries are very common injuries sustained in auto accidents, slip and fall accidents and workers compensation accidents. A knee injury commonly occurs from the sudden exterior impact, twisting or blunt force trauma to the knee. Ultimately this impact causes the knee to twist or hyperextend depending on the angle of the impact. The severity of the injury is normally determined by the type of injury, force as well as angle of the impact. For instance, in an auto accident the knee can be injured differently than in a workplace slip and fall accident.
Nerve Injury: A healthy, robust and properly functioning nervous system is very important in terms of allowing a person to live a comfortable, pain free life. The nervous system innervates every part of the body and controls its functions. This includes simple motor skills such as moving your arm or leg as well as more complex functions such as breathing, heartbeat and processing information via the five senses. In the event of a serious accident or injury the nervous system can become damaged therefore disrupting the victims ability to live, work and play normally without chronic pain and suffering. Many times, the nerves in the arms are damaged over time due to repetitive work. These include the median and ulnar nerve, resulting from workers comp injuries to the arms and hands. Also, workers comp neck injuries can result in permanent nerve damage which can be misdiagnosed as carpal tunnel syndrome. Sometimes, scar tissue can form in other areas of the body due to nerve damage, and workers comp denies these injuries.
Shoulder Injury: Shoulder injuries can occur as a result of various types of accidents such as car accidents, truck accidents and motorcycle accidents. The shoulder is also susceptible to injury during a slip and fall accident, workplace injuries and blunt force trauma. Different types of accidents can injure the shoulder and its various parts in different ways. This is due to variables such as the type of trauma and angle of impact or force. Workers comp rotator cuff tears are common. Workers comp SLAP tears are also common. Workers comp shoulder arthritis and degenerative changes occur frequently related to heavy work. These are all painful workers comp injuries that require shoulder surgery, usually arthroscopic repair and debridement through workers comp. Workers comp physical therapy needs to be approved by UR (Sedgwick, Genex, Gallagher Basset, Hartford) and the others. Failure for workers comp to authorize physical therapy can cause lifelong damage and insufficient healing.
Soft Tissue Injury: Often times an injured worker feels that soft tissue injuries sustained in an accident are not serious enough to file a workers compensation claim or contact a workers compensation attorney. Nothing could be further from the truth as injuries involving and effecting soft tissue can be extremely painful. These may be injuries such as whiplash or a muscle strain that is the result of an accident. In many cases soft tissue injuries are secondary to a more serious injury. And, if a workers comp muscle spasm or muscle strain go untreated, it can lead to significant problems in the future. Always fill out a workers comp claim form and give it to your employer for any injury! It is a violation of Labor Code 132a to discriminate against you for filing a workers compensation claim. To the employers: don’t terminate your employees for filing a workers compensation case, you could be in expensive trouble (and Labor Code 132a makes it a crime).
Spinal Cord Injury: A spinal cord injury, or spinal column injury, resulting from an accident in Orange County will impact your life forever. Unfortunately, rarely does one suffer a spinal cord injury and fully recover afterward. Types of spinal cord injuries are: complete and incomplete spinal column injuries; denervation; caudal equina syndrome; atrophy; altered motion segment integrity; altered gait; severe radiculopathy; gait derangement; loss of limb use; paralysis; and loss of bowel function.
Vision Injury: All of our senses, including vision, help us to perform everyday work related and personal activities. If vision or sight is diminished, lost or impaired our lives are severely impacted. Activities, both work related and non work related, will have to be relearned if our vision is damaged, lost or diminished. Frequently accidents at our current jobs, professions or careers can induce vision loss. Vision loss at work can be caused by long term overexposure to bright lighting. Vision loss can also be caused by an on the job accident that damages the eye, its surrounding structures and facial nerves.
