Workers’ Compensation Lawyer

Concussions are the workplace injuries with most days off work

On behalf of Godwin and Rubin posted in Workplace Injuries on Thursday, January 18, 2018.

Workers who are seriously injured on the job will often experience a period of disability when they cannot work and will remain under intensive medical care and treatment. Of course, for all workplace injuries, that period of being out of work is covered by wage payments and other benefits under the workers’ compensation system pursuant to California law. The attribution of fault to who caused the accident is irrelevant and usually of no concern in a workers’ compensation claim.

Some workers who are injured may return to work sooner if the employer is willing to transfer them to a light duty job that the worker can perform without aggravating the healed injury or causing a re-injury for any reason. With respect to the distinction between workers who stay at home and those who return to light duty positions, studies reveal that those with head injuries have higher incidences of days away from work as opposed to days spent in a light duty position. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics published the study.

The Bureau has studied these phenomena since 2011. The finding that the most days away from work applied to head injuries is not surprising. Closed-head injuries are sometimes very difficult to manage due to the low-level brain injury that has occurred. The trauma to the brain cells can have a permanent effect that produces chronic symptoms that often linger for years.

Some of the symptoms of classic closed-head injuries, which are inclusive of all diagnosed head concussions, are chronic headaches, migraines, loss of balance, dizziness, speech impediments, memory loss, dramatic mood swings, temporary insomnia, tinnitus, lack of focus, sensitivity to light and general thought and communication disorders. Regarding workplace injuries resulting in concussions that produce some of the foregoing symptoms, regular medical attention should be assiduously maintained. A consultation with an experienced California workers’ compensation attorney should also be obtained whenever the employer is not fully cooperative in agreeing to the worker’s course of medical treatment recommended by his or her doctor.