Back injuries are commonly incurred or exacerbated by work-related activities. In some instances, these injuries are so severe that they render an individual unable to work for a significant period of time. This can lead to financial hardship for those who are unable to work to earn their wage at the same time they take on extensive medical debt. But if you’ve suffered a back injury on the job, then you might qualify for workers’ compensation benefits, which could give you the financial relief that you need.
Addressing degenerative disc disease
While some back injuries are caused by a singular event, such as lifting a heavy object, and are readily apparent, others develop over time and are more difficult to immediately identify. These prolonged injuries are usually caused by repetitive stress, which means that they are common in fields like construction, warehousing, long shoring, and landscaping. One common way that these kinds of back injuries present is through degenerative disc disease. Here, the sponge-like cushions between your vertebrae break down and become inflamed, thereby placing pressure on surrounding nerves.
If you hope to recover workers’ compensation benefits for degenerative disc disease that developed over time, then you’re going to have to make sure that you have strong evidence showing how your work duties caused or contributed to your condition.
So, you’ll want to take notes about when you started feeling pain, what sort of activities exacerbate the pain, and how it has been affecting your ability to work. Seek medical treatment and ask your doctor to opine how your injury was caused or exacerbated. He or she might also be able to give a statement about how your condition limits your work ability, which can be key to your claim.
Be prepared to build a strong workers’ compensation claim
There are steps that you can take to maximize your chances of succeeding on a workers’ compensation claim. But you have to be prepared and know how to navigate the law to your advantage. If you’d like to learn more about what that looks like, then we encourage you to continue to read our blog and the other pages on our website.