Accident Attorneys

Is There An Accident? Common Workplace Injuries Reported For Workers' Compensation

Certain types of accidents result in injuries that are common in the Workers' Compensation system. They include injuries to the arm, elbow, and shoulder, including fractures, impingement syndrome, lacerations, reflex sympathetic dystrophy, rotator cuff injuries, and biceps ruptures. Elbow injuries often include epicondylitis, fractures, strains, cubital tunnel syndrome, and ulnar nerve decompression. Shoulder injuries include fractures, frozen shoulders, impingement syndrome, rotator cuff tears and strains. Injuries to the back and neck are also common. These include aggravation of degenerative disc disease, arthritis, disc bulges, herniated discs, fractures, spondylosis and strain.

Eye injuries are also common. These include corneal abrasions, chemical sprays, lacerations to the cornea, and retinal detachment.

Facial injuries often include nasal bone or orbital fractures and nerve damage, scarring and disfigurement.

Common finger injuries include amputations, crushing injuries, fractures, and lacerations. Trigger thumb and trigger surgery are common surgeries.

Foot injuries commonly include burns, fractures, ruptured tendons, and sprains. Hand injuries often include amputations, crushing injuries, fractures, severed tendons, de Quervain's, ganglion cysts, TFCC tears, sprains, carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis.

Leg and knee injuries include fractures, lacerations, quadriceps tears, meniscus surgery and sprains and strains.

Typically there are two types of accidents which are covered by Workers' Comp. The first is a singular trauma, this is what is commonly associated with the work accident but means an event which is traceable to a definite time, place, and cause and occurs in the course of employment, unexpectedly and without affirmative act or design of the employee. It is noted to be an event which causes a worker's existing physical structure, whatever it may be, to give way under the stress of his usual labor.

The arising out of element in Workers' Compensation is predominately concerned if the employee has an increased risk to which the employee is subjected as compared to the general public. The task must be some event which furthers the employer's
business interest.

In addition to a singular event or trauma, Illinois also recognizes repetitive trauma. This is where the performance of the employee's work involves constant or repetitive activity that gradually causes deterioration or injury to a certain body part. Fights between coworkers are work related if the injured employee is not the aggressor and the fight is related to or was caused by a dispute about the work environment.

Injuries in parking lots are generally held to be in the course of employment, if the employee has a designated parking spot and is injured within a reasonable time before or after the work day starts.

Employees who are required to travel as part of their job have extended rights under the Workers' Compensation Act. If the employee's conduct at the time of the accident was reasonable, and the employee is a traveling employee then the accident will be found compensable. Or, if the employee is on a special errand or mission for the employer then these may also be compensable.