When you think about what injury risks you may face at your job, you likely recognize the possibility of suffering a back injury, a shoulder injury or even carpal tunnel syndrome. But another common injury that employees sometimes suffer at work is a neck injury. They may find themselves in serious neck pain after a long day or unable to move their head normally. They may feel numbness or tingling in their neck, shoulders and arms.
Suffering a job-related neck injury
Some of the most common neck injuries suffered at work include:
- Herniating a disk in your neck
- Whiplash
- Neck sprains and strains
- Spinal cord injuries
- Neck fractures
- Neck lacerations
The most common way workers suffer these workplace neck injuries include:
- From slips and falls at work
- In vehicle accidents while on the job
- From overexertion while lifting, pushing or pulling heavy objects
- From being hit by falling objects (this is most common for construction workers)
- From having improper posture
- From repetitive motion
Proving your neck injury was work-related
If you suffer a neck injury at work, you may have a hard time proving your injury was work-related. Often, neck injuries occur over time and aren’t necessarily the result of one workplace incident. If you feel you suffered a neck injury because of your job, you need to report that to your employer immediately and seek medical help. You will want a doctor to evaluate the seriousness of your injury and document how your work duties caused your neck injury.
You also should consult an experienced workers’ compensation attorney. You want to ensure you receive maximum workers’ compensation benefits from your neck injury, especially if you face a long recovery. With an attorney’s help, you can avoid your workers’ comp benefits being denied and make sure you have money to pay your bills while you recover. That will help you focus more on your recovery and healing fully from your injury.