NY Workers: Know the signs of a repetitive motion injury

Many New York workers are at risk of suffering from repetitive strain injuries (also known as repetitive motion or repetitive stress injuries).  These types of injures are especially prone to happen in workers with jobs that involve repeating the same task over and over again, such as a culinary worker, data entry clerk, construction worker, delivery person, housekeeper, and more.

Signs of a repetitive stress injury can show up in a variety of body parts.  New York workers have injured their shoulders, back, wrists, neck, arms, elbows, forearms, thumbs, and fingers while performing repetitive or stressful tasks at work.

If you experience a repetitive stress injury, you may be eligible to receive NY workers’ compensation benefits.  Don’t let your employer dissuade you: repetitive motion injuries are REAL, and can be very painful, making it difficult or impossible for you to work.

Some signs of a repetitive stress injury:

• Weakness in the affected body part
• Tingling, numbness or loss of sensation in the affected body part
• Problems opening and closing your hands
• Stiffness in your joints
• Difficulty using your limbs
• ‘Pins and needles’ in your hands
• Difficulty controlling or coordinating the affected body part
• Problems performing simple tasks like buttoning a shirt or tying shoes
• Tremors, pain, or soreness

Think you are suffering from a repetitive strain injury?  Make sure you see an independent doctor (don’t let your employer or their insurance company pick one for you!) and contact an experienced New York workers’ comp lawyer for help.