Bending and straightening at work may lead to a compensable injury.
Many jobs require employees to bend down and straighten up frequently in order to carry out work duties. While this may seem like an ordinary body movement that should not cause injury, we hear frequently from workers who are injured on the job from repetitive movements in the performance of their jobs, and want to know if they can recover workers’ compensation benefits.
What distinguishes the seemingly ordinary actions of bending down and straightening up from those that would create a compensable Illinois workers’ compensation injury? The specific facts surrounding the movements are important. Looking at the type and frequency of the bending, you have to see whether the general public would be likely to engage in similar conduct.
In one recent case, a hardwood floor installer suffered a lower back injury requiring surgery. In the course of performing his duties he had to bend over to use a machine to staple the hardwood. His job required him to bend and staple hundreds of times a day, over a 17 year period of time. The repetition of this movement caused his back to spasm and one day he was unable to straighten up because of the pain in his lower back.
The type of movement he was doing was determined to be compensable under Illinois workers’ compensation. It was required for his job, and was very different than the way the general public would need to move, and the frequency with which an average person would have to bend and straighten.
When a repetitive movement arises out of employment like the hardwood floor installation, then the fact that an injury develops over time and not immediately will not prevent it from being compensable as an accident under Illinois workers’ compensation. By their very nature, these injuries may take considerable time to develop to the point of injury. And in Illinois, it is generally the case that you don’t have to wait until part of your body gives out and you are unable to work at all, before you can recover for the repetitive injury. The workers’ compensation act allows for compensation where the injury is caused by repeated movement while performing your job, without requiring complete incapacitation.
As long as each separate movement that you perform is necessary to carry out your job, and the large-scale repetition of the movement is what leads to the injured body part, it is likely that the injury will lead to benefits. You still, though, have to show that the injury came from this work-related movement, and not the usual degeneration of the body part involved.
There is one more potentially tricky aspect of claims for repetitive work trauma. The date of injury can be more difficult to determine, and if it is held later that you were using the wrong date, you could lose your right to bring the claim because of statue of limitation and notice requirements. Experienced Illinois workers’ compensation attorneys should be able to help you determine the proper date of injury, to help prevent your claim from being barred.
We are workers' compensation attorneys that help people with Illinois work injuries anywhere in IL via our statewide network of attorneys. Contact us and we will answer your questions or find the right lawyer for your situation.
