Persistent tendonitis (or tendinitis) isn’t a small injury. It can become debilitating without good, steady medical treatment.
Caused by inflammation, tendonitis often results from repetitive motion stress and work-related injuries. If you have tendonitis, a Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Lawyer can help you navigate the process of securing the benefits you deserve through your employer.
What Is Tendonitis?
Tendonitis happens when the fibrous cords attaching bone and muscle together become inflamed. The result is pain around the joint. It can happen to any tendon, but it’s most common in hands, wrists, shoulders, elbows, knees, feet, and heels.
Pain medicine, rest, and physical therapy are often the best treatments. However, long-lasting tendonitis can lead to tearing, which might require surgery.
Tendonitis at Work
There are many ways to get tendonitis. If your work involves strenuous or repetitive joint motion, you could develop consistent inflammation and pain. If work causes your tendonitis, you might be eligible for workers’ compensation.
Common work-related tendonitis injuries may include:
- Tennis Elbow: Repetitive gripping, hand turning, wrist turning, and other lower arm movements cause this. This tendonitis type hurts the outer part of the elbow, and the pain radiates to the upper arm.
- Trigger Finger: As the name suggests, repetitive pulling and other finger motions hurt the finger joints, and the inflammation and pain radiate up the hand, past the wrist, and into the forearm.
- Achilles Tendonitis: Overuse often causes this. People who do a lot of walking or climbing stairs are at risk. Tired, weakened calves are part of the cause, and carrying weight while walking increases the risk. Pain usually begins at the heel and radiates up the leg.
- Baseball Elbow: This is also caused by repetitive arm motions, specifically those that resemble a throwing motion, as the name suggests. It’s caused by swelling inside the elbow joint.
- Shoulder Bursitis: This tendonitis impacts the shoulder. Inflammation happens at that joint, and pain radiates down the arm.
- And more
Workers’ compensation covers most work-related injuries causing tendonitis. If you experience symptoms, see a doctor immediately and discuss whether your job could have caused your pain
You might have to see a specific, approved doctor to qualify for benefits. Your worker’s compensation attorney at Mottaz & Sisk Injury Law can review your requirements.
When to Seek Worker’s Compensation
If you get injured while working, you can seek workers’ comp. Workers’ compensation benefits go to employees who suffer work-related injuries and meet eligibility requirements. Tendonitis in most or all body parts is typically covered if your doctor proves it’s a job-related injury.
Workers’ comp covers injuries related to:
- Repetitive stress: repetitive motion and tool or equipment use can cause tendonitis. Hand tools, power tools, controls, and more requiring the same motions day after day can cause the stress needed for inflammation, leading to tendonitis. Repetitive physical labor motions also cause tendonitis. Lifting, bending, and walking over long periods, especially when associated with additional stress like weight and tool use, can cause injuries like tendonitis. If that’s what caused your pain, workers’ comp may cover it.
- Accidents: Slips and falls, collisions, objects falling, or an impact with them can all cause many different injuries, including tendonitis. These are some of the most common injuries caused by physical labor in work environments. Workers’ compensation covers these accidents and injuries.
- Other work-related injuries: Sometimes, one injury begets another. Tendonitis can happen because of other ailments like arthritis or bone and muscle degeneration. If your job wears down your body, you can get tendonitis, and workers’ comp to cover it.
These are only a few things that can cause tendonitis. If you experience related symptoms or have any reason to suspect you may have the problem due to your job, you should speak with a lawyer at Mottaz & Sisk Injury Law. You might be entitled to a worker’s compensation settlement for tendonitis, and you’ll need an experienced attorney to get the benefits you need and deserve.
Who Gets Workers’ Comp for Tendonitis?
Tendonitis has so many causes that many workers are at risk. Those most prone to this injury type are people doing physical labor, such as:
- Factory workers
- Laborers
- Assembly line workers
- Construction workers
- Utility workers
- Warehouse workers
- Retail workers
- And more
The injury must meet specific criteria for an employee to get workers’ compensation for tendonitis. Your doctor, lawyer and you must prove that the injury occurred at work. Activities outside work, such as hobbies, will be considered as potential contributing factors. If they’re the cause, you won’t get coverage. You need a lawyer to help you prove work was the cause.
You must also prove that the duties were the direct cause; the link between your tendonitis and your work can’t be too speculative. You will have to show. Clearly, that movement required by your work caused and exacerbated the issue.
You need medical documentation to satisfy all criteria and qualify the injury as job-related. Your worker’s compensation lawyer can help you get the information you need.
How Much Workers’ Compensation Can You Get for Tendonitis?
When it comes to getting your workers’ comp settlement for tendonitis, something to consider is how much you’re eligible for based on your injury costs. To understand what your injury is worth, work with a knowledgeable attorney; they will help make sure you receive all the compensation you’re entitled to under the law.
Workers’ Compensation Benefit Types: Medical, Disability, and Rehabilitation
Medical benefits cover all the costs for diagnosing and treating your work-related tendonitis. They usually support you through your entire recovery. However, Insurance companies sometimes try to stop these benefits early, so stay knowledgeable and contact your lawyer.
If your tendonitis keeps you from working for a long period, you could qualify for disability benefits. The amount you could receive varies, but the percentage of your wages you receive is tax-free. If you can work, even a little, partial disability benefits might be available, too.
If you need rehabilitation to heal and regain mobility and retraining to get back to work, these benefits can help cover those costs. They’re important for helping you return to your job after your recovery.
If you receive workers’ compensation benefits weekly or bi-weekly, you can continue to have them as long as you meet the eligibility requirements. However, accepting a settlement means you won’t be able to claim additional benefits later. That’s why it’s important to make final settlement decisions cautiously; working with an experienced attorney gives you the support you need.
Navigating workers’ comp for tendonitis can be stressful, but knowing your rights and your benefits can make a big difference. Stay informed and surround yourself with the right legal support.
Getting Your Workers’ Compensation Settlement
If you’re dealing with tendonitis, taking the proper legal steps toward a worker’s compensation settlement is important. To help you through the process, begin by reporting your injury to your employer. This first step isn’t just a good practice; it’s a requirement. You have limited time to file this report, and deadlines are specific to your state. Waiting too long could jeopardize your chance of receiving benefits.
Get medical treatment for your tendonitis. Proper diagnosis and medical treatment are necessary for your claim. Treating your tendonitis early on can help your recovery, as well as your claim. Sometimes, you must see an employer-approved doctor for your worker’s compensation eligibility; talk to your lawyer about those requirements.
Finally, one of the best things you can do is consult with an attorney who specializes in workers’ compensation cases. An experienced professional working through your case with you can make all the difference in how your claim proceeds. For guidance specific to workers’ compensation in Minnesota, contact Mottaz & Sisk Injury Law.
Coverage and Treatment
Workers’ compensation claims for tendonitis cover all treatments deemed medically necessary for the job-related injury. Generally, cold compresses, anti-inflammatory medications, support and immobilization, and rest are the best treatments for tendonitis of all kinds. Depending on the type of tendonitis, area of the body, and other factors, your doctor may require any number of treatments.
Because the issue involves inflammation, anti-inflammatory medications like NSAIDs are common treatments. Over-the-counter pills may not alleviate your pain, so you might need prescriptions. If so, you’ll want to ensure your worker’s compensation claim includes this need and the resulting funds cover it.
Steroids, specifically corticosteroids, also treat inflammation and are common, effective prescriptions for tendonitis. However, They’re expensive, so it’s important to ensure your worker’s comp settlement covers them if your doctor prescribes them.
Similarly, cortisone injections lessen inflammation. They also lessen the pain associated with the injury. These shots can help manage tendonitis symptoms for long periods, but you might need several injections throughout recovery. If you settle your compensation claim before your injury heals, make sure you and your lawyer consider those costs for your settlement.
Of course, the injured area needs protection. Wraps, braces, and other methods for securing the affected area immobilize the joint so it can rest and heal. Your doctor will prescribe you the proper wrap or splint, and your settlement should cover material costs. It’s important to wear it precisely as prescribed.
Your doctor may also require you to go to rehabilitation and physical therapy. Tendonitis and its healing periods can leave the muscles and joints weak. You might need help from a physical therapist to strengthen the joint so you can return to work. You may also need some occupational therapy if you miss a lot of work. Your settlement should cover all of this.
You could need surgery. This, of course, depends on how you got tendonitis and how severe it is. If you need surgery, it is expensive and leads to additional medical costs for healing, rehabilitation, medical supplies, and more. You and your lawyer must factor in all these additional expenses when seeking compensation.
Not all of these treatments are necessary in every case. Most people with tendonitis can recover with time, rest, and care for the injured area. It’s important to make sure that your worker’s compensation doctors don’t try to send you back to work too quickly.
Healing takes time, and interrupting that time by returning to work too soon can delay healing and do more or worse damage. Your lawyer can help you ensure your compensation covers all the healing time you need.
Workers’ Compensation Limitations
States place limitations on workers’ comp claims to prevent people from taking advantage of the system. Speak to your lawyer to understand Minnesota’s laws. Statute of limitations, for example, sets a deadline for filing claims. In Minnesota, the injured person must file a claim within three years of the injury date provided on the First Report of Injury.
Also, you face benefit time limits. Injured employees can only get so many weeks of benefits, depending upon the injury.
Contact Mottaz & Sisk Injury Law
If you’ve been injured on the job and have tendonitis, don’t try to work through the pain, and don’t wait to get help. You could make your injury and your situation at work much worse.
Talk to a lawyer at Mottaz & Sisk Injury Law immediately about workers’ compensation for tendonitis in Minnesota. Call us, and our professionals will help you take all the necessary steps to get the medical help, coverage, and rest you need to heal and get back to work.
Don’t try to do this on your own and risk missing out on important benefits. Our lawyers can file your claim on time and correctly.
