Sometimes a work injury happens in one clear event, like banging your head on a pipe or breaking a bone in a fall.
But oftentimes, a work injury or illness can develop incrementally over time. Widely recognized examples of this type of occupational disease include lung disease caused by asbestos, repetitive stress injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome, and hearing loss.
If you are hurt at work, you should tell your supervisor or boss as soon as possible, even if you think it is a minor injury or will go away without requiring medical care. For an injury, you must give your employer notice no later than 120 days after the injury for compensation to be allowed. It’s always better to report an injury, and document it, because if the injury turns into something more significant, if you haven’t reported it to your boss or supervisor, you may not be able to bring a claim.
With an occupational disease that develops gradually, to make a workers’ compensation claim, the injury or disability must occur within 300 weeks from the date of last employment in an occupation in which the employee had exposure to a hazard, and a petition must be filed no later than three years from the date of injury or disability.
In either case, failure to file a timely petition may result in forfeiture of your right to benefits.
The “Safety Training” episode of The Office makes a funny distinction between occupational disease and injury, using Michael’s outrageous behavior to make its point. Michael turns the safety training into a competition about who has the more dangerous job, the warehouse workers or the office workers, and becomes upset that Toby isn’t making the office injuries seem bad enough.
Toby: Ok, um, one thing that you’re gonna want to look out for is carpal tunnel syndrome. It’s recommended that you take a ten minute break from typing every hour. For your circulation, you’re gonna want to get up out of your chairs and uh, and move around about ten minutes every hour.
Michael: Yes, good. Fine. Like stretching and…
Toby: Um, yeah. Your computer screen can be a big strain on your eyes, so uh, it’s also recommended that you step away for about… about ten minutes every hour.
Michael: Wow, that is… that time really adds up. That’s like… a half an hour, every hour?
Darryl: Take them at the same time.
Michael: Ok, you know what? You’re making it sound kind of lame. So, skip ahead to the really dangerous stuff. Like sometimes computers can explode, can they not?
Toby: No, no. Um, you always want to keep a sweater or cardigan of some sort, in case it gets drafty.
Ryan: What about a long sleeve T?
Toby: Well, that’ll work.
Kevin: Long johns? A shaw?
Toby: You know, anything that warms you.
Michael: Ok, you know what? I think that everybody is going to vomit due to boredom. [to warehouse guys] Sorry, he is very lame. [takes book from Toby] Um, let’s see. “Seasonal affective disorder! A depression that includes weight gain, fatigue, irritability, brought on by the low light of winter.”
Darryl: Thank God we only had a baler to deal with.
Lonny: Yeah, that dim light is a bitch, ain’t it?1
As funny as this is, Michael has a valid point (somewhere). Feeling chilly is not comparable to losing an arm in a baler. But the dangers of occupational diseases like repetitive stress injuries, though less dramatic, are real. Carpal tunnel syndrome may be the best known repetitive stress injury, but workers of many industries can suffer from these: factory workers, home health care aids, construction workers, and yes, Darryl, warehouse workers.
Occupational diseases can be serious and disabling, even fatal. Although they don’t occur in one dramatic incident, these diseases are real and are covered by workers’ compensation law.
The Office snippet does illustrate that claims for occupational disease can be more complicated and harder to prove. You will have to prove that your disease was caused or aggravated by your employment.
If you have an injury or illness that may have been caused by work, contact the experienced workers’ compensation lawyers at Aversa and Linn to assist you with understanding your rights under the law.
- Read entire script for this episode here: https://www.officequotes.net/no3-19.php
