From construction sites to warehouses to just about every other place where someone performs work for money, lifting heavy objects is a normal part of the job for employees around California. Unfortunately, performing this routine task in the wrong way is a common cause of serious work-related injuries. Even worse, seeking workers’ compensation benefits for this injury can be more complicated in practice than many injured workers expect.
If you have been hurt while lifting something at work badly enough that you need professional medical care, you should make speaking with a Downey heavy lifting injury lawyer one of your top priorities. Your chances of getting the result you need from your workers’ comp case may depend on whether you have assistance from an expert workplace injury attorney who could help you efficiently navigate the rules and restrictions placed on these claims by state law.
Even workers who are as careful as anyone possibly could be on the job can still sustain significant damage in their legs, arms, back, or neck while lifting something heavy, especially if that kind of motion is something they constantly do during the average workday or that they have never performed before. That said, there are numerous techniques that manual laborers can and should use to reduce their risk of getting hurt in this way, including:
Failing to lift heavy objects using the safe techniques generally will not disqualify someone from seeking workers’ comp benefits for their injury unless they were engaging in horseplay or acting extremely irresponsibly. A Downey attorney could explain the steps in the filing process for a heavy lifting injury in more detail during a private initial meeting.
In addition to proving they were not hurt through horseplay, someone trying to file a workers’ comp claim over a heavy lifting injury must also prove that their injury was, in fact, work-related. Specifically, they must show that the injury around which their claim will be based did not exist before a specific on-the-job accident while performing job duties or that if it was a pre-existing condition, it was made substantially worse by a work-related accident or repetitive work-related stress.
Accomplishing this generally requires notifying an immediate supervisor at work as soon as possible after the injury occurs, seeking medical treatment quickly from an employer-approved provider, and following up with all treatments recommended to prove the injury is as bad as it is claimed to be. Once again, a heavy lifting injury attorney in Downey could clarify what evidence might be needed to support a specific claim during a confidential consultation.
Heavy lifting injuries are standard on all types of worksites, and they can be as challenging to seek workers’ comp benefits for as they are to recover from in physical terms. Fortunately, you have help from expert attorneys with years of experience getting good results from similar cases on behalf of workers like you.
Working closely with a Downey heavy lifting injury lawyer will give you better chances of obtaining all the benefits you need than you will ever have to pursue your claim on your own. Call today to discuss your options.
