Because a back injury can be debilitating, you need to seek medical intervention soon after an accident. Additionally, since medical expenses can be high, you need to pursue your employer’s workers’ compensation benefits to cover the costs.

Common Causes of Work-Related Back Injuries

Back injuries affect the musculoskeletal system, including soft tissue, nerves, joints, cartilage, and spinal structures. As your body adjusts to new limitations, you may experience pain and reduced motion in your neck and hips.

According to the American Medical Association, signs of a back injury include sharp and constant pain or mild intermittent pain in the musculoskeletal system. Back injuries can vary and may result in a brief impairment or, more acute, life-long problems. The pain levels and symptoms depend on which part of the back was injured.

Various causes are resulting in work-related back injuries, including but not limited to:

• Lifting objects
• Performing repetitive tasks like casing mail, climbing stairs, getting up and down from a chair, or reaching overhead
• Pushing, pulling, or dragging objects
• Carrying loads in an awkward manner
• Sitting in one place, such as at a non-ergonomic workstation, for extended periods

While any worker can suffer from work-related back injuries, those who perform physical labor, such as the construction industry, are most likely to experience back injuries. In addition, long-haul truckers are also likely to suffer from back injuries due to sitting for long hours, leading to deconditioning of the back muscles.

Although work-related back injuries may occur due to a single traumatic event, the symptoms may develop gradually due to a repetitive motion or activity over time. It’s essential to understand the difference between traumatic and cumulative trauma injuries.

Getting Workers’ Compensation for Back Injuries

If you experience back injuries for any reason at work, report the injury to your employer as soon as possible — to help start the workers’ compensation process. It is prudent to report your injuries immediately to avoid losing your ability to claim compensation.

After reporting, your employer should provide you with the compensation claim paperwork or fill it out on your behalf. Ensure you fill out the paperwork within the time limit to avoid forfeiting your claim.

Possible Challenges When Getting Workers’ Compensation for Back Injuries

Even after reporting your injuries and filing the workers’ compensation paperwork on time, you still risk forfeiting your compensation if you can’t prove that your injury was work-related.

Insurance companies are reluctant to pay workers’ compensation claims in most cases, and often dispute whether work injuries occurred. Therefore, you will have to prove that your injury is work-related. Your injury doesn’t necessarily have to happen at your workplace as long as it occurred while you were performing an activity assigned by or benefiting your employer.

Despite this, the insurer may claim that your condition is preexisting due to a previous accident, sports injury, or old age. An attorney specializing in personal injury and worker’s compensation lawyer can help you prove which activities caused your back injuries in these situations.

Even if you have preexisting conditions, a workers’ compensation lawyer can help you prove that your workplace injury aggravated your conditions. In these cases, you can still get compensation.

When you visit the doctor, make sure you tell them about any preexisting conditions and that you believe that your work duties aggravated your condition.

How Much Does Workers’ Compensation Pay for Back Injuries?

You can receive compensation as a lump sum settlement or as installment payments. Also known as Compromise and Release, lump-sum compensation comes as one full payment.

The amount you receive depends on various factors such as:

• The severity of your injuries
• The proposed length of treatment
• Amount of pain you suffered
• Your age
• Your occupation
• Whether your injuries are permanent
• Whether you had preexisting conditions
• Possible difficulties from the treatment of your injuries

Possible Factors that Affect Your Workers’ Compensation

Before awarding you compensation, the insurance company uses average settlement injury data to calculate how big of a settlement to offer you. During their calculation, they consider various factors, which include:

• Possibility of permanent disabilities
• Present back injuries, their severity, and how they affect your daily life
• Any possible additional treatments and their cost
• How the injuries affect your income generating capabilities
• Unresolved issues surrounding your injuries
• Unreimbursed medical bills
• Any unpaid temporary disability benefits
• Your personal life, such as marital status, age, life expectancy, and employment potential

The compensation you receive often depends on how well you present your claim. Once you accept a settlement, you can’t go back and claim more from the insurance company-even after realizing that your injuries are far worse than you anticipated. Therefore, you shouldn’t negotiate on your own. Instead, you should hire an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer who can negotiate for you and advise you about how much to expect.

Before signing a compensation benefits form, take your time to understand your back injuries, their extent, and how they will change your life. Think about your impairments, your working capabilities, and the effects that future medical issues may have on your life.

Also, consulting with an attorney before you sign ANYTHING is the most judicious way to proceed. For more information on claim issues related to work-site injuries, contact Turner & Turner at (248) 355-1727 to set up your free consultation today.

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act was passed in 1978. Even though the so-called PDA has been around for over 35 years, it has not ended the practice of workplace discrimination around the issues of pregnancy.  

Here are the essential things to know about what employers of pregnant employees can and cannot do:

1. An employee cannot be fired because she’s pregnant. Sometimes, an employer will fire a pregnant employee, implying that they are “looking out for the interests of the mother or the fetus”. This is, in fact, illegal. Decisions about what is “good for” the mother and the baby are to be made by the mother and her health care team, not her bosses.
2. A pregnant employee can continue to work for as long as she and her health care provider believe it is safe. An employer is not allowed to force the pregnant employee to take maternity leave prior to childbirth.
3. An employer cannot refuse to hire a woman because she is pregnant or even has the potential to be pregnant. Employers want to have a stable work force and can be scared off of hiring a pregnant woman, assuming that she will want time off in the future. Nevertheless, the practice is illegal.
4. Accommodation for breastfeeding mothers must be made. One of the components of the Affordable Care Act is that lactating mothers have the right to pump their breast milk in a private place (and by the way, a bathroom doesn’t count). The only catch: if she works in a place with less than 50 employees, her employer is not obligated if the employer insists that providing accommodations is a hardship.
5. A pregnant employee may ask for some accommodations, like being able to sit during a shift. This can include changing certain tasks for a short term, similar to what would occur if someone had another short term medical impairment like a back or neck injury or even stitches. Before an employee wants accommodations, they should protect themselves and get a doctor’s certification of recommended accommodations.

Pregnancy discrimination complaints are common. It is important to note that pregnancy discrimination cases are judged  in favor of the complainant  more often than other types of discrimination cases, like gender, race and sexual orientation.

Family and Medical Leave is guaranteed by a federal law, known as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Certain employers in Michigan (but by no means all) are required to allow an employee to take unpaid leave and to be able to return to their job in order to take care of a family member in specific situations. The cumulative amount of allowable leave is for 12 weeks during a 12 month period, but can be for more if caring for a family member serving in the military.

Am I entitled to Family and  Medical Leave?

You are only entitled to family and medical  leave if your employer meets the following conditions:

• The place you work has at least 50 employees for at least 20 weeks in the current year or the previous year. (So if you work in a place where the number of employees changes because it’s seasonable work, there need to be at 50 employees for at least 20 weeks of the year.)
• If you work for a company that has multiple locations, the total of the employees at all the locations within a 75 mile radius must be at least 50 for at least 20 weeks of the year.
• The workers at your place of employment have to be categorized as employees and not contract workers; there is a difference.
• You must have worked for your employer for at least a year and for at least 1,250 hours during the past year.
  

What are allowable reasons to ask for Family and Medical Leave?

You may request leave for any of the reasons below:

• Birth, adoption or foster parenting of a new child within one year of the birth or the adoption or fostering. Both men and women are allowed to take FMLA to bond with the child.
• You have been sick and you need to recuperate after a serious illness, generally requiring inpatient treatment and typically one which prevents you from performing your job duties.
• You need to care for a  family member with a serious health condition. A family member can be a spouse, a parent and children. At this point, grandparents, and partners (whether same sex or not), as well as in-laws and siblings are not considered family members for the purpose of FMLA.
• Handling emergencies due to a family member’s military service. This is a complicated component of FMLA, but it can include things like arranging for child care, seeking counseling, and spending time with a military family member prior to deployment and upon return if there is a need for extensive recuperation.
• Care for a family member who was injured during military service. Again, the family member can be a spouse, a parent and children. At this point, grandparents, and partners (whether same sex or not), as well as in-laws and siblings are not included.

What happens to my job when I return from leave?

Your employer is supposed to reinstate you, meaning that you are entitled to your old job, if possible. If you are not reinstated into your old job, you are entitled to a job with equivalent pay and benefits as to what you had prior to taking leave. FMLA doesn’t protect you, however, if your job is eliminated for other reasons than your leave, like layoffs, plant closures, etc. Certain high paid employees can lose their jobs if their employers tell them ahead of time that taking FMLA is a risk and they are considered a “key employee”.

You need to give your employer notice as to when you are returning and by law, you must be reinstated within two days of declaring your intent to return. Your employer cannot put off reinstating you, including requiring that there be an opening in your shift.

I’m on the company health plan. What happens to me?

You are entitled to continued health insurance coverage during your leave. However, if you don’t return to work after your requested leave, your employer may require that you reimburse the company for the past health insurance premiums. This is a tricky area if the reason you don’t return in a timely manner is due to continued health issues or other extenuating circumstances.

How do I Request Leave?

The FMLA requires 30 days’ notice if possible. This is often impossible, except for planned leave in the cases of childbirth, adoption or for planned medical procedures. If you cannot give 30 days’ notice, give as much notice as possible.

Get a copy of your company’s employee manual which includes their FMLA policy and follow its instructions for requesting leave.

Keep copies of any documents that you sign, including your request for leave (and any emails and notes from employers granting it or not granting it), as well as any documents of pay and benefits during and after the leave.

If you are having a hard time with your employer, it might be beneficial to bring in an attorney to help you negotiate the terms of the FMLA.

My employer is being obnoxious. What should I do?

Your boss is not allowed to make you crazy during your leave. He or she can’t constantly harass you regarding work responsibilities while you are on leave. Nor can your boss threaten you with repercussions, like a poor performance review, because you decided to take leave. Your employer cannot harangue you to end your leave earlier than is medically safe for you to do so. You should contact Turner & Turner if you need support during this time.

Some Complications:

Your employer may not be required to allow FMLA.

Your employer may offer paid leave that you should utilize prior to FMLA.

Your employer may have absentee policies or sick leave policies that complicate the request and usage of FMLA.