The cervical spine is in the neck, so a “neck injury” may sometimes be a spinal injury. An injury involving the cervical spine can be very painful and debilitating. It can result in difficulty sleeping, an inability to carry out everyday activities, and an overall negative impact on your quality of life. It may cause pain or weakness into the arms and hands and even lessen your ability to use your arms and hands. It can be life-changing. When this life-change occurs because of an injury on the job or an existing injury that was exacerbated because of work-related activities, you may be wondering if you can file a workers’ compensation claim and have any chance of it being approved. That’s where the help of a Mankato workers’ comp lawyer comes in.
Workers’ compensation may insist that you don’t have a claim, especially if there was an issue with your neck before the injury that made you unable to work or unable to work at full capacity. An experienced work comp attorney can help you determine if a claim can be successful. There are some types of neck injuries that warrant surgery, even a cervical fusion (neck fusion). Surgery can require a lengthy recovery time and it can be very expensive.
Help For Injured Workers Needing Cervical Fusion
There are different types of neck injuries that can occur on the job, including:
- Repetitive strain
- Sprains and strains
- Pinched nerve
- Disc injury
- Vertebral fracture
- Degenerative disc
- Spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal)
- Fractures
Common reasons for cervical fusion surgery are disc degeneration, spinal stenosis, and fractures. If you have any of these conditions and your cervical spine issue was caused by or progressed faster because of activities on the job, you may well have a valid workers’ comp claim.
If you require cervical fusion, you are having a surgery that joins together bones in the neck. This surgery prevents the movement of these bones and can relieve much of the pain. The recovery time can be lengthy. You may well need workers’ comp benefits to get the treatment you need and to cover your wage loss while you are unable to work. A worker may be able to return to the same type of work he or she did before following successful treatment. However, if the worker cannot go back to his or her old job, workers’ compensation can help obtain the skills to find work in another field.
The purpose of workers’ comp is for you to receive monetary benefits to make ends meet, medical benefits to get the care that you need, and occupational assistance so you can get back to earning a meaningful wage.
Contact Our Mankato Workers’ Comp Lawyers
If you have sustained a neck injury on the job and require neck fusion surgery, it’s important to file your work comp claim as soon as possible so the process can begin. You want to have medical benefits in place so you can receive the care you need. To learn more about your rights and options, contact Harvey & Carpenter at (507)-779-7529 to request a free consultation.
