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Georgia Workplace Injuries: Falls, Impacts, Pulls, and Tears

As an employee, you can become injured at virtually any job or in any industry in the state of Georgia. You could trip on a cord in the kitchen or fall down the stairs while you are walking back to your office. Some workplace injuries are more common than others. Falling injuries, impact injuries, and pulling or tearing a muscle are all incredibly common. If you are an active worker in the state of Georgia who becomes injured on the job, you might be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits.

Contact an Experienced Workers’ Compensation Lawyer

Successfully filing a workers’ compensation claim can quickly become complicated. You need a knowledgeable and dependable lawyer in the Gainesville area. The attorneys at Smith Hulsey Law are here to help you through your workers’ compensation issue. Contact us today to schedule your free consultation.

Fall, Slip, and Trip Injuries and Workers’ Compensation

People are often surprised to learn that many workplace injuries are the result of falls, slips, and trips. Slip and fall injuries include falling down on the floor, falling down steps or the stairs, falling through an opening, and falling large distances, like from a roof onto the floor. 

It is extremely easy to slip and fall while on the job. Accidentally tripping and falling off something is relatively easy. Slips and trips can be highly damaging to older employees, who are often more susceptible to serious injuries. In some cases, a slip and fall can cause a brain hemorrhage or concussion that can become deadly. 

Impact Injuries and Worker Compensation

Impact injuries include contact with equipment and objects. Impact injuries accounted for 15% of fatal occupational injuries within Georgia in 2014. Coming into contact with powerful equipment and machinery can cause severe injuries, including amputations, lacerations, becoming crushed (especially by heavy machinery), and death. Impact injuries include all of the following types of injuries:

  • Being struck by equipment or an object
  • Being struck by a vehicle that is not a transportation vehicle
  • Being caught in objects or equipment
  • Being compressed by objects or equipment
  • Being cut in running machinery
  • Electrocution
  • Blunt force impact injuries

Employees who work in highly mechanized workplaces are more likely to face impact injuries. Impact injuries can be incredibly harmful and result in an employee’s inability to continue working. If you have suffered an impact injury while on the job, you might be entitled to unemployment benefits to help your family pay the bills. 

Pulling or Tearing a Muscle and Worker Compensation 

Pulling or tearing a muscle while on the job can cause excruciating pain that can make it difficult, if not impossible, to do your job. Overuse can cause muscle tears and pulls. Overexertion is the leading cause of workplace injuries, according to the Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index. According to their study, 23.65% of all workplace injuries include overexertion involving outside sources. These injuries cost American companies $10.38 billion per year. 

Filing for Workers’ Compensation After Pulling a Muscle

Muscle tears, strains, and other overextension injuries can negatively impact your day-to-day life as well as your ability to comfortably work. A pulled muscle can take weeks to heal. Severe muscle strains can take even longer to heal. If you have experienced a tear, strain, or overextension injury, you might wonder if you are entitled to compensation. You likely have medical costs that you need to pay and you have probably missed time spent at work, making your financial strain even more serious. 

You will need to prove that your muscle strain or pulled muscle affects your ability to work for  enough time to qualify for workers’ compensation. You are unlikely to earn compensation for a minor strain, even if you were out of work over seven days. You will need to prove that your pulled muscle is serious enough to justify workers’ compensation

Why it is Important to Speak to a Lawyer as Soon as Possible

Many of us do not take our injuries as seriously after we are first injured. We might brush off the injury as no big deal and later realize that it is, in fact, a big deal. For example, you might strain your back at work and later realize that it is not healing properly. You might think that you will just stay home and put ice on your back for a few days. Later, you could realize that the pain is not stopping. You might go see a doctor and learn that you have a more serious back injury that will prevent you from returning to work. 

Strains and sprains are a type of soft tissue injury that is common among muscles, ligaments, and tendons. Many people experience a pulled muscle, or a sprain due to an accident at work. Or, you could experience a pulled muscle due to repeated injuries that happen over time. For example, if you work in manual labor and overuse a muscle, this overuse could lead to an injury. Acute soft tissue injuries often require rehabilitation and surgery in order to return to work and fully regain function. It is important to not discount a pulled muscle just because it is a soft tissue injury.

It is important to report a pulled muscle, sprain or strain as soon as possible, even if the injury seems minor at first. Reporting your injury will begin the process of workers’ compensation so that even if the injury becomes more serious, you will still be able to use your workers’ compensation benefits. In some cases, employers will not accept your report of an injury because they do not want to pay for workers’ compensation benefits. For this reason, it is important to speak to a lawyer as soon as possible after you become injured. 

Contact an Experienced Georgia Workers’ Compensation Lawyer

If you have suffered an impact injury, pulled muscle, or slipped and fell at work, you need an attorney to help you with your workers’ compensation claim. At Smith Hulsey Law, we can help you seek workers’ compensation for your on-the-job injury. Contact us today to schedule your free case evaluation.

Smith Hulsey Law

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