Pre-Settlement Funding: Back Injury at Work
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Sustaining a back injury may not seem serious, but for many people, these types of injuries can result in deliberating pain that affects their daily lives. When the pain is so severe that people are unable to adequately perform their daily job duties, they may be unable to return to work until they recover. In fact, OSHA has reported that back injuries are a top cause of disability in their working years, costing almost $50 billion a year and affecting more than 600,000 people annually. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has also reported that over a one-year study, sprains and strain made up approximately 43 percent of the 1.3 million injuries and illnesses in private industries that required time off work. A significant portion of these injuries were back-related. Additionally, these numbers are only expected to go up. These types of injuries can include disorders related to the discs, tendons, or muscles of the back, or a cumulative effect of various factors.
It has been reported that some of the following are common ways that workers may sustain back injuries:
- Reaching while lifting
- Poor posture, or remaining in one position for too long, such as a bent posture
- Pulling, pushing, and carrying objects, particularly heavy objects and equipment
- Lifting with forceful movement
- Slip and fall accidents
- Bending and/or twisting while lifting
Because there are so many different ways to sustain a serious back injury, anyone working in any type of industry can potentially injure their back severely. For example, someone working in an office can sustain a back injury from poor posture at their desk, falling on their back, or carrying heavy boxes. This is just one of many potential scenarios and examples, but the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has identified laborers and material movers, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers; and nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants as the most at-risk occupations when it comes to workplace injuries and illnesses. Many individuals in the medical profession, particularly orderlies and nursing aides, are more susceptible to overexertion and back injuries related to moving and lifting patients.
A serious back injury may not always be apparent right away, so it is important to look for certain signs that you may have potentially injured yourself while on the job. Some of these signs include pain when transitioning from a seated to standing position, decreased mobility, and pain when attempting to assume normal posture.
Did you sustain a back injury at work? Depending on the severity of your injury, you may be out of work temporarily or permanently. Sustaining a work-related injury can be stressful in a number of different ways. Injured workers not only have to deal with mounting expenses that they are suddenly faced with, such as medical expenses, but many are unable to work. Even a temporary leave of absence can cause significant financial hardship. Depending on the details of your workplace injury, you may be seeking monetary compensation in a workers’ compensation claim. More complex cases that resulted from the negligence of another may also mean pursuing compensation in a personal injury lawsuit.
Many plaintiffs wonder when they can expect to receive money, and understandably so. At USClaims, weoffer an alternative to those waiting on cases to settle; this is a process known as pre-settlement funding. Contact us today to learn more about the process, and to get started!