Did you know that carpal tunnel syndrome is one of the most common reasons for people to file workers’ compensation claims? But carpal tunnel workers’ comp benefits are also harder to get than many people realize.
If you develop carpal tunnel because of the work you do, you may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. Whether you end up getting them – and how much of a benefit you can receive – depends on your unique situation. We’ll explain the difficulty involved, how to improve your chances for approval, and risks of not seeking medical care below.
What Is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
Doing the same movements with your hands repeatedly at work can inflame or injure the median nerve inside your wrist. A traumatic hand or arm injury can also damage this median nerve, such as a car wreck or machinery accident. When something compresses, damages, or irritates your wrist’s median nerve, it’s called carpal tunnel syndrome. This type of injury or condition is classified as a musculoskeletal disorder and sometimes called an ergonomic injury.
What’s most concerning is that repetitive motion injuries like carpal tunnel can get progressively worse over time. Since this nerve helps you move and feel things with your thumb and middle three fingers, don’t ignore it! Diagnosing carpal tunnel syndrome early is critical if you want to avoid surgery and possible permanent injury.
Symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome to Watch Out For
If you experience the following carpal tunnel symptoms, it’s vital to see a doctor and get an official diagnosis sooner than later:
- Tingling
- Numbness
- Muscle weakness in your thumbs, wrist, or fingers that makes gripping objects with your hands more difficult
- Pain in your hands or fingers that gets worse at night, especially where it wakes you up
- Swelling sensation in your fingers, whether they are visibly swollen or not
CTS is one of the most common hand conditions and often requires carpal tunnel surgery.
Carpal Tunnel Risk Factors That May Hurt Your Workers’ Comp Claim
If you have any of the following related health problems, it could make getting carpal tunnel workers’ compensation benefits even harder:
- Carpal tunnel syndrome runs in your family. Some people have a naturally more narrow passageway that forms the carpal tunnel in their wrists, which can be passed on genetically.
- You’re a woman. Studies show that women are three times more likely to develop CTS than men. This may be due to the fact that carpal tunnel, the channel which the median nerve runs through, is naturally smaller in women. Hormone changes, swelling, and inflammation may also occur naturally during pregnancy, menopause, and due to thyroid disorders.
- Osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis naturally changing the shape of your bones and joints over time. Many people develop these conditions as they age, and they can also reduce mobility in your fingers, wrist, and hand.
- Other factors that can put ongoing pressure on the median nerve unrelated to repetitive hand motions. These include things like blood sugar changes in type 2 diabetics, obesity, a recent or previous wrist fracture, strains, sprains, and dislocated joints.
Which Workers Are Most at Risk for Developing Carpal Tunnel?
While some people can develop carpal tunnel because of the structure of their wrist, the type of work a person does can also put them at higher risk. As you might imagine, working a job in which you use your hands often using repetitive motions will increase your odds of CTS.
The five most common jobs that lead to carpal tunnel range from office work to manual labor:
- Telephone operators rank #1 on this list, especially those who do not use headsets and ergonomic keyboards.
- Factory workers, especially those on assembly lines that involve repeating the same gestures for hours at a time.
- Office employees whose job duties require lots of typing and using a mouse, especially with limited work breaks. Data entry clerks and court reporters are just two examples.
- Hairdressers and barbers, mostly due to the different equipment and tools they use to style, cut, and color clients’ hair.
- Construction workers who use handheld tools that constantly vibrate, such as jackhammers and power saws. Exposure to regular vibration over long periods can irritate the median nerve, leading to CTS.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, carpal tunnel required 28 days off work, on average, in 2015. The only musculoskeletal injuries requiring more time off to recover were work-related bone fractures (31 days).
Is Carpal Tunnel Usually Covered Under Workers’ Compensation?
Like other injuries or illnesses, workers’ compensation insurance does not automatically cover carpal tunnel syndrome. Rather, you must show that your required work duties directly cause symptoms of carpal tunnel. Further, you may need to show you still have symptoms even with reasonable accommodations under the ADA from your employer.
These circumstances can make it easier for you to get workers’ compensation for carpal tunnel:
- You developed it in the course and scope of doing your job. That means performing your required work duties exactly as expected gave you carpal tunnel.
- You need medical treatment to treat your symptoms because they interfere with your ability to do your job. To meet this requirement, you must notify your employer about your ongoing medical issue, and seek medical attention. In some states, that means a doctor authorized by your employer must confirm your CTS is work-related before you file a workers’ comp claim.
Important: Some employers will try to deny you workers’ compensation benefits if they believe your carpal tunnel stems from a pre-existing condition.
How Much Carpal Tunnel Workers’ Comp Money Can I Get?
The latest statistics available, from 2020-2021, show that injured workers with CTS can receive up to:
- $15,919 in medical treatment benefits
- $18,136 in wage-loss workers’ compensation payments to partially replace your lost wages
Are There Other Carpal Tunnel Benefits?
If your carpal tunnel keeps you from working for more than a year, there is a chance you could qualify for Social Security disability benefits. This is far more likely if you need carpal tunnel syndrome surgery in both hands to relieve your symptoms. If you get carpal tunnel workers’ comp payments, though, that SSD income could be subject to an offset. Fortunately, both workers’ compensation and Social Security disability income is not taxable below a certain amount.
Why You May Need a Lawyer to Get Carpal Tunnel Workers’ Comp Payments
There are several reasons to seek legal representation in order to get carpal tunnel workers’ comp payments. One is that every case is unique, and understanding whether your case warrants benefits can be confusing. Here are some good reasons to get a free consultation from an experienced workers’ compensation attorney:
1. Proving your carpal tunnel syndrome is work-related isn’t easy, especially if you must see a doctor your employer selects.
Think for a moment about the issue of whether you developed carpal tunnel during the course and scope of your job. That might sound like an easy thing to answer, but what if you work from home? Or what if you noticed the symptoms shortly after you started this job? How do you know a pre-existing condition didn’t cause your carpal tunnel? You must prove carpal tunnel comes exclusively from doing your required job duties to get workers’ compensation.
If you don’t have repetitive tasks at work on a regular basis, it’s much easier to deny your claim for carpal tunnel. An attorney understands what type of medical evidence best supports your claim that CTS is a work-related injury.
Navigating this alone can feel impossible, especially if you are still working or trying to make ends meet.
2. Workers’ compensation claim rules are hard to understand, and deadlines are easy to miss.
Another reason is that the process and paperwork can be overwhelming. Do you know which forms have to be filed and when in your state? Do you know which doctor can provide a carpal tunnel diagnosis under your employer’s workers’ compensation policy? If you don’t, then an attorney can help.
But perhaps the most important reason to work with a lawyer to get carpal tunnel workers’ comp payments is that employers often try to get out of paying benefits for repetitive stress injuries like carpal tunnel, maybe because they’re 3x more likely to result in a permanent disability. Let’s look at how that issue has affected other workers’ comp for carpal tunnel cases in recent history.
3. Median nerve damage can lead to permanent disability, and no insurance company wants to pay benefits to an injured worker for life.
Sometimes an employer might try to intentionally stall cases in hopes that you will simply give up. Statistics show that in California, since 2001, the average claim duration for carpal tunnel has been almost triple that of other claims. Other times it might be the court that prevents workers comp for workplace CTS injuries. Take the case of Candice Reichenberg who, in the course of her job, had to restrain another person for an extended period of time. The injuries she endured from that encounter led to eventual spinal surgery. During court proceedings, the judge ruled that Reichenberg had a mild case of carpal tunnel that was not work-related. Ultimately, the court denied her CTS claim.
These cautionary tales are important to understand in context. A work-related injury that prevents you from working ever again may qualify for Permanent Total Disability (PTD) benefits. In many states, that means your employer’s insurance company would owe you payments until your Social Security retirement benefits begin. Laws in other states would require a large lump-sum settlement offer based on your total percentage of disability or disfigurement.
A workers’ compensation attorney can evaluate your case during a free consultation and help you understand all your options.
Get Your Free Workers’ Compensation Claim Evaluation Now
If you want to speak to a workers’ compensation lawyer about your claim for carpal tunnel free of charge, we can help. Let us connect you with an attorney well versed in the state laws where you live and work to better explain your rights. This free consultation is your first step in determining whether your CTS is a work-related injury. You don’t have to do anything else after you speak with your matched attorney. Choosing whether to work with an attorney or move forward with your claim is entirely up to you.
If an attorney cannot help you win carpal tunnel workers’ comp, then you owe $0 for legal assistance. That’s because every attorney we connect people with for free claim reviews works on contingency. And if you do win, then you only owe one small fee afterwards.
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Lisa Allen is a writer and editor who lives in suburban Kansas City. She holds MFAs in Creative Nonfiction and Poetry, both from the Solstice Low-Residency Program in Creative Writing at Pine Manor College. Prior to becoming a writer, Lisa worked as a paralegal, where she specialized in real estate in and around Chicago.
