Back injuries are some of the most common reasons why employees need time off from work.
Workers across various industries injure their backs every day, and they cannot work until the injury heals. At McCravy, Newlon, Sturkie & Clardy, our team has fought to obtain benefits for those injured on the job. Although most South Carolina workers are entitled to benefits, many see their claims denied for frivolous or wrong reasons. Call a Greenwood workers’ compensation lawyer for assistance with making a claim. We have decades of experience guiding injured workers through initial claims or appeals.
Most Common Back Injuries at Work
Any number of things can go wrong on the job. Some of the most common back injuries include:
- Strains: Damage to the muscles or tendons can lead to a back strain. Common symptoms include stiffness and pain when moving.
- Sprains: A sprain affects ligaments in the back, including those that provide stability to the spine. A jarring accident can lead to a back sprain, which shares many of the same symptoms as a strain.
- Fractures: A person might fracture one of the vertebrae in their spine or the back of a rib. Fractures near the spinal cord must be treated with care. There is a risk of serious, possibly permanent injury.
- Pinched nerves: Any compression on a nerve can result in chronic pain. This is a tough injury to treat because workers might need to learn how to sit with better posture to relieve the compression.
- Disc damage: A traumatic accident can damage the discs between the vertebrae. The result is pain whenever a worker moves their back.
- Spinal cord damage: The spinal cord is central to movement and sensation, so any compression or damage is often catastrophic. At a minimum, a worker can struggle with sensation.
This is a short sample of serious back injuries. Make sure to head to the hospital if you feel pain and believe your job duties have caused it.
How Workers Suffer Back Injuries
The back is a complicated network of muscles, ligaments, and tendons, any of which can get injured during routine work hours.
Even those who don’t work manual jobs can injure their backs based on repetitive motion or how they are sitting.
Many back injuries are caused by:
- Poor posture while sitting at a computer
- Straining to lift heavy objects
- Falls
- Repetitive twisting or bending
- Reaching too far
- Motor vehicle accidents
Some back injuries are suddenly painful, whereas others might creep up on a worker slowly over time. Even the slowly developing injuries could force someone flat on their back for weeks.
Who Can Suffer Back Injuries in the Workplace?
Any worker can suffer a back injury. However, some professions are more prone to injuries, including:
- Manual laborers
- Warehouse workers
- Transportation workers
- Nurse’s assistants
- Office workers
- Anyone who sits for prolonged periods
Sometimes it only takes one jarring movement for a person to suffer a pinched nerve or other painful injury. A worker might slip and wrench their back trying to arrest their fall. That type of accident could happen to anyone in South Carolina.
How Much Compensation if You Injure Your Back at Work?
The compensation is largely dependent on the severity of the back injury, including the intensity of the pain. In South Carolina, workers should qualify for workers’ compensation benefits, including:
- Medical care: You should not have to pay anything for reasonable and necessary care to treat your back injury.
- Lost wages: Many workers need to take some time off due to temporary disability. They can typically receive a portion of lost income: about 2/3 of what they earned before the accident.
- Disability benefits: Some workers are permanently disabled and will not return to work. Think spinal cord damage or something similar.
The workers’ compensation system is complicated, so reach out to an attorney for help understanding your rights, as well as how to submit a claim. There are important deadlines all workers must meet, regardless of their injury.
Personal Injury Lawsuit for Back Injuries
The general rule in South Carolina is that you cannot sue your employer for an on-the-job injury.
That means if you injured your back at work, you are left with workers’ compensation benefits. That isn’t a bad tradeoff. After all, workers’ compensation benefits are no-fault, so it doesn’t matter if you hurt yourself because of a failure to use reasonable care.
However, you might supplement these benefits with a personal injury lawsuit for damages. You might sue a non-employer in various situations if they were at fault for your accident:
- You are hurt in a motor vehicle accident while working, in which case, you can typically sue the at-fault driver. Suppose you travel to meet clients when you are T-boned. The other driver is at fault, so you can sue them.
- A defective product at work leads to a back injury. Imagine a ladder collapses underneath you because of a design defect. You might sue the manufacturer for compensation.
- The property owner is someone other than your employer, and they failed to warn you of a defect, or they created a hazard which injured you. This sometimes happens with construction.
- A customer or vendor attacked you at work, so you might sue them for assault.
Damages in a personal injury lawsuit typically cover:
- Lost income/wages
- Pain and suffering
- Medical treatment
- Future economic losses, such as future medical care
Helpfully, a lawsuit is one way to obtain pain and suffering compensation, which is not allowed in the workers’ compensation system. Your lawyer should always consider whether this type of third-party claim is available in a back injury case.
Call Our Office to Speak with a Greenwood Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
McCravy, Newlon, Sturkie & Clardy is proud to represent injured workers in Greenwood and throughout South Carolina. If you were hurt on the job, contact our law firm. We can help file a workers’ compensation claim or bring an appeal if your initial claim was denied. Our firm is also well-positioned to file a personal injury lawsuit so that our clients can seek the maximum compensation possible.