Ganglion cysts are a common medical condition that can develop in people who perform repetitive tasks at work. These fluid-filled lumps are typically found on the wrists, hands, fingers and/or thumbs. They can cause pain and discomfort and prevent an employee from doing their job duties. If you develop a ganglion cyst due to your job, you would be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. That would pay for 100% of your medical care, your time off work and eventually result in a settlement.

Ganglion Cysts and Work Duties

A ganglion cyst is a noncancerous lump that forms along joints or tendons. It is filled with a jelly-like fluid and can vary in size. Some ganglion cysts cause no symptoms, but others can lead to pain and numbness and restrict movement, especially if they press on a nerve. These cysts are often associated with repetitive stress or repetitive motion, making them a common issue among workers who use their hands and wrists extensively. Office workers that type, assembly line employees that put together products or package goods, and manual laborers that operate machines are all at risk for developing ganglion cysts.

Proving Your Ganglion Cyst Is Work Related

Workers’ compensation may cover ganglion cysts if you can demonstrate that they developed at least in part due to your job duties. To file a claim, you typically need to show:

  1. A clear connection between your work activities and the cyst’s appearance. Your doctor would need to provide a statement confirming this. We would walk you through this process.
  2. That the cyst negatively impacts your ability to do your job. The cyst causes pain or limited mobility and you can’t do your job as well as you could before the cyst. In some cases this means you can’t do your job at all.
  3. That the cyst required medical treatment. That may include aspiration of the cyst (draining fluid), physical therapy, and/or surgery. All of this should be covered by work comp insurance.

Next Steps

If you have a ganglion cyst and think it’s work related there are a few things to do. You must report this to your employer within 45 days of when you knew or should have known it’s work related. You should immediately see a doctor. We highly recommend that you see a hand specialist who has dealt with this injury hundreds of times.

Beyond that, you should speak with an attorney for a free consultation to see if you have a case and what your options are. We’d be happy to do that any time and promise to treat you like a family member or friend. Please call us any time at 312-346-5578 for help anywhere in Illinois.