As humans, our hands are crucial for our survival; this ideal is also often echoed in our traditional sayings such as ‘giving a hand’ (which means helping someone) ‘right-hand man’ (referring to some as crucial and intimate as ones own right hand). Hence, losing one’s arm due to the negligence of others can be devastating. It affects the way you navigate your life, also your livelihood in most cases. Farmers, construction workers, and repairmen are more likely to get hand injuries in the workplace. The hand is one of the most commonly injured body parts in the workplace. Hand and wrist injuries can lead to permanent disability, especially if the injury involves the dominant hand.
Loss of arm mobility or chronic pain is hard on the victim. If you sustain a serious injury to your hand, wrist, or forearm in an accident that was not your fault at work, you maybe eligible for compensation for medical visits, surgery, physical therapy, loss of income due to disability, and mental stress. California law specifically states that victims of workplace injury have the right to claim economic and non-economic damages.
This is taken into account when handling hand injuries, as major surgeries can require multiple doctor visits, are expensive, and take a long time to heal. A delay in seeking medical attention due to your injuries may reduce or cancel any compensation you may receive from the responsible parties. Some injuries can result in hand and finger amputations and other serious and life-alternating hand injuries. Injuries to the hand, wrist, or arm may result from a specific accident or develop over time with repeated use. Some of the most common causes of hand, wrist, and forearm injuries include repetitive work tasks and construction site accidents.
Often, an injury to the hand causes damage to several parts of the surrounding area, such as the carpal tunnel. Another specific condition that we can investigate is vibration injury to the hands, arms, or fingers. This is a recipe for disaster and often results in a carpal tunnel in the wrist or hand, tendonitis, or vibration injuries to the hands and/or fingers.
Permanent disability benefits provide compensation for the permanent impact of an injury on your ability to work. Disability benefits provide compensation to injured workers when they are unable to work while recovering from an injury. Workers’ compensation benefits generally depend on the severity of the injury and the length of time the injury caused the worker to be unemployed (or partially/permanently disabled after the accident).
What to do in case of a denied claim?
If your employer’s insurance company has denied your employees’ claims for compensation or has not approved all of the payouts you think they deserve, you have the right to challenge that decision by filing a “compensation claim”. If a written request is not filed with the OWCP by the due date, the employer may object and deny compensation in the event of a disability resulting from an accident. Along with the notice of injury delivered to your employer, you must file a written request with the OWCP within one (1) year from the date of injury; or, if the employer voluntarily paid compensation payments, the written request should be made within one year of the last compensation payment. Your employer must provide you with a Workers’ Compensation Claim Form (DWC-1) within one business day of becoming aware of your injury.
If you or your loved one has sustained hand injuries at your respective workplace, contact an experienced Workers Compensation attorney.
Call Pistiolas Law today for a free legal consultation regarding your hand injury. Let our professional team of Workers Comp. Lawyers fight for your right to be compensated for your medical bills, lost wages, and other losses caused by your injury.
