Ohio workers sustain many different types of injuries on the job. As an experienced Cleveland workers’ comp lawyer, I have helped a wide variety of employees with workers’ compensation claims, from traumatic injury claims to occupational disease cases. I want to tell you more about repetitive motion injury claims and to emphasize that you can be eligible for workers’ comp in Ohio if you have carpal tunnel syndrome or another type of repetitive stress injury.
What is a Repetitive Stress Injury in Ohio?
Repetition stress injuries (RSIs), which can also be known as repetitive motion injuries or repetitive strain injuries, occur from overuse, or regular repetitive movements. According to WebMD, these are the most common type of injury in the U.S., and tendinitis and bursitis are the most frequent types of RSIs. Carpal tunnel syndrome is one type of repetitive motion injury, and it can affect many different types of employees, from those working in manufacturing to those working behind a desk.
While many states do not allow workers to receive workers’ compensation benefits for repetitive stress injuries, Ohio is not one of those states. Ohio workers can be eligible to obtain workers’ compensation payments by filing an occupational disease claim.
Repetitive Stress Injuries and Occupational Disease Claims Under Ohio Law
Some workplace injuries are not traumatic injuries, meaning that they occur over time instead of all at once in a traumatic event. Occupational disease claims often involve injuries or illnesses that have occurred over a period of time as a result of your job duties. Under Ohio law (ORC 4123.01(F)), repetitive motion or repetitive stress injuries may qualify as occupational diseases. Accordingly, a worker in Cleveland who has developed a repetitive motion injury as a result of his or her work-related duties may be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits.
With an occupational disease claim, a worker must show that a certain type of exposure has had a harmful effect and has resulted in a medical diagnosis. The term exposure is used quite broadly to include exposure to:
- Dust;
- Gases or fumes;
- Chemicals;
- Toxic substances;
- Infections;
- Organisms;
- Radiation;
- Radioactive rays;
- Extreme temperature changes;
- Extreme noises;
- Extreme pressure;
- Physical vibrations;
- Constant pressure and use; and
- Physical movement in constant repetition.
That last category of “exposure” is the one that allows an injured worker with a repetitive stress injury to file a workers’ compensation claim.
Ohio Time Limits for Filing an Occupational Disease Claim for a Repetitive Motion Injury
Determining the date of your disability and the time limit for filing an occupational disease claim can be more complicated than filing a claim after a traumatic injury. The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation will use the most recent of one of the three dates to determine your date of disability:
- Date your condition was diagnosed;
- Date you first received medical treatment for the condition; or
- Date you quit working because of the condition.
Then, your workers’ comp claim must be filed within two years from the date your disability started.
Contact Me to File Your Workers’ Compensation Claim
If you suffered a repetitive stress injury because of your job, you deserve to get workers’ compensation benefits. I’ll Make Them Pay!® Call me at 877.944.4373 for more information.
