Even after 28 years of talking to injured workers, I still get unique questions. I also get common questions phrased in a new way. It’s important because it reminds me that there isn’t a one size fits all approach to asking questions or giving legal guidance.
The most recent example of this came from a very hard core laborer who was having neck and shoulder issues. He asked me if he could have a case if he “never had an ouch moment.” It cracked me up because he was not the type that I would expect to say “ouch.” I also thought it was a great question asked in a unique way.
His question was another way of asking can you bring an Illinois workers’ compensation claim if you’ve never had an accident. The answer is of course yes. We help hundreds of injured workers every year who sustain injuries due to repetitive activities on the job. In his case, he does a lot of heavy lifting and overhead work and has done so for over a decade. It makes total sense that he’d start to have pain in his shoulder and neck. It’s very common for a body to break down over time.
What threw him is that his boss told him that he can’t file for workers compensation because he didn’t have an accident or an “ouch moment” where he can identify getting hurt. That is not how Illinois work comp law works, but we see employers lying to their workers all the time to try and deny them their rights.
This worker is like many others. At the end of the work day he feels like shit. After a weekend of rest or a vacation he starts to feel better, but the pain continues to come back. He’s tried to manage it with Advil, but that is no longer working.
The advice I gave him is the advice I would give anyone in a similar situation. I told him to do two things. First, I suggested that he go to a doctor. The best choice would be an orthopedic doctor, but if he needs to go to his primary care physician first, that is fine too. Along with that, I advised that he tell them that he thinks his problems are due in part to his job. That involves being very detailed as to what your job duties involve so the physician has a clear picture of the stress being put on your body. Don’t ever assume that if you give them your job title or a short description that they will really know what your day-to-day work life is like.
The second thing I told him is that he should formally report the injury to his boss after he sees the doctor, and tell them that he’d like to file a claim for workers’ compensation. I don’t recommend this when you have very minor pain, but in a case like this where he needs medical care and has trouble lifting his arm above his head along with shooting pains, he has to report it. This problem is not going away without medical care and it might require a job switch.
The good news is that Illinois work comp laws can protect him. He doesn’t need an ouch moment to have a case. He just needs to show that his job contributed to his problem. It seems clear that it did. This will give him the same rights as an injured worker who was run over by a forklift would have.
