Injured Your Rotator Cuff at Work?
Our California Workers’ Compensation Attorneys are Ready to Help
Rotator cuff injuries are painful, debilitating, and often disabling. They are as inconvenient as they are common. More serious rotator cuff injuries can leave a person unable to perform the most basic of everyday tasks, not to mention unable to perform a variety of job duties. If you have suffered a rotator cuff injury at work, you are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits.
A dedicated workers’ compensation attorney at Invictus Law, P.C. is ready to help you get the benefits you are owed after a workplace rotator cuff injury. We will investigate the circumstances surrounding your injury, help boost your workers’ comp claims, and fight for your right to recover comprehensive compensation for the harm you have endured.
What is a Rotator Cuff Injury?
The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles and tendons that surround the head of the humerus (upper arm bone) in the shoulder. The composite pieces work together to form a “cuff” that keeps the arm in the proper position and permits the shoulder to move around in all directions. The shoulder is extremely mobile, but that mobility relies on a working rotator cuff. The shoulder is, unfortunately, somewhat weak; sudden stressors or repeated stress over time can tear one of the tendons away from the bone. Rotator cuff tendons also commonly tear in the middle.
Rotator cuff injury refers to a tear in one or more of the tendons or other damage caused to the tendons or muscles surrounding the rotator cuff. Rotator cuff injuries can be painful, debilitating, and lead to limited functionality. In fact, rotator cuff injury is one of the leading causes of disability among adults. Roughly two million people visit the doctor every year due to rotator cuff problems. A serious rotator cuff injury can not only cause a patient difficulty with work-related tasks; it can also make normal, everyday tasks such as grooming, getting dressed, or grabbing something off the shelf extremely difficult or painful.
Symptoms of Rotator Cuff Injury
There are a number of signs and symptoms of rotator cuff damage. If you suspect you might have a rotator cuff injury, see a doctor immediately for diagnosis and assistance. Symptoms of rotator cuff injury include:
- Pain or tenderness in the shoulder, especially when rotating the shoulder or carrying, pushing, or lifting objects
- Snapping or crackling sound when the shoulder is moved
- Weakness of the shoulder, especially when lifting the arm above shoulder level
- Trouble moving the shoulder, especially trouble lifting the arm above shoulder level
- Difficulty sleeping on one side of the body
Chronic Tears and Injury Over Time
Not every workplace injury happens all at once. Many injuries accrue over time from repeated stressful or uncomfortable activities. Rotator cuff injuries can occur due to sudden impact, but they can also develop over time as a result of constant, daily stress placed on the joints and tendons in the shoulder. Repetitive stress is, in fact, the greatest factor leading to chronic rotator cuff injury.
Workers who constantly have to lift, carry, or move heavy objects as part of their daily job duties are likely to suffer a chronic rotator cuff injury that develops over time. When there is a decrease in the blood flow to the area, due to ill-fitting equipment or poor positioning, the likelihood of a rotator cuff injury is exacerbated.
California law guarantees workers’ comp for all workers injured on the job, whether the injury results from a sudden impact or from a condition that develops over time. If you suffer chronic rotator cuff injury because of repetitive movements performed as part of your job duties over several years, you have the right to workers’ comp coverage. Recovering workers’ compensation for an injury developed over time can be difficult, however, and it requires specific, compelling proof that the injury resulted from work-related conduct. A savvy California workers’ comp attorney at Invictus Law can help you build the strongest case for your workers’ comp recovery, regardless of whether your rotator cuff injury happened over time or all at once.
Invictus Law Is Here to Offer Help and Representation After a Workplace Rotator Cuff Injury in Orange County and the Inland Empire
If you’ve been injured on the job in California and need help securing quick, comprehensive workers’ compensation benefits, contact a tried and true Orange County workers’ compensation lawyer at Invictus Law at 949-287-5711, serving Orange County and the Inland Empire with offices in Orange and Ontario.
