What Types of Injuries are Covered Under Nebraska’s Workers’ Compensation Laws?
Nebraska’s workers’ compensation laws entitle you to compensation if, during the course and scope of your work, you suffer an acute injury, a repetitive strain injury, or an occupational disease.
You might be intimidated to file a workers’ compensation claim if you have read the news about workers’ compensation cases that resulted in major legal battles or if you know people who got injured at work and ended up having to pay for most of all of their medical bills out of pocket or through their own health insurance instead of through workers’ comp. Nebraska’s workers’ compensation laws have a broad enough definition of the terms “work-related injury” and “occupational disease” that they can cover almost any instance of ill health that results directly from a person’s work, but there is still room for disagreement about whether an injury is work-related. If you suffer an acute injury in an accident at work, getting your employer to pay for your emergency treatment is usually straightforward, but if you have lingering symptoms, you might face the same difficulties as people who file workers’ compensation claims for chronic conditions. For help resolving disputes about your workers’ compensation claim, contact an Omaha workers compensation lawyer.
Acute Injuries and Their Aftermath
If you broke your arm after slipping and falling on a wet surface at work, it is difficult for your employer to deny that this is a work injury. Therefore, getting workers’ comp to pay for your acute treatment, such as an emergency room visit and follow-up appointments, is the easy part. Your recovery is where the ambiguity comes in. If you are still unable to perform all of your old work tasks six months later, are you entitled to partial disability payments? Are your symptoms due to a work injury from six months ago or a pre-existing medical condition? If the latter, is it not your employer’s responsibility to pay for treatment? What happens if the inexpensive treatments your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance approves for pain management are ineffective? You may need to resolve these matters before a judge of compensation claims.
Repetitive Strain Injuries
Manual labor jobs can cause repetitive strain injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome, and so can desk jobs where you must type on a computer for many hours per day. Symptoms usually increase gradually until they get bad enough that you file a workers’ compensation claim. There is more of a gray area about the extent to which the injury is work-related. At worst, it is a case of, “You’re just old,” versus, “No, I’m just overworked.”
Contact Andres Law Offices, PC LLO, About Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Disputes
An Omaha workers’ compensation lawyer can help you if your employer denies that your illness or injury is work-related. Contact Andres Law Offices, PC LLO in Omaha, Nebraska, about your case.