Common Types of Work Injuries and Illnesses - New Jersey Injury Lawyer
In the United States, more than four million work-related injuries and illnesses occur every year. Depending on the type of employment and an employee’s work conditions, types of common injuries include:
- Slip and fall injuries including broken bones
- Machine related injuries including amputation of hands, arms, and feet
- Roadway incidents
- Injury caused after being struck by or against an object
- Overextension such as a pulled muscle or sprain
- Vision loss
- Loss of fingers and toes
- Repetitive motion injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome.
Occupational illnesses are equally as varied such as:
- Respiratory diseases including asthma and tuberculosis
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- Occupational dermatitis and other skin diseases including cancer
- Mesothelioma
If you or a loved one were injured on the job, it is critical to consult with a New Jersey workers’ comp lawyer as soon as possible. In many instances, an employment based injury or illness causes life altering difficulties and only an experienced attorney can make certain that you receive all of the compensation to which you are entitled.
Other Workers’ Compensation Injuries and Illnesses
New Jersey workers’ compensation laws do not provide a listing of specific injuries or illnesses that an employee might suffer as a result of their employment making it necessary to speak to a skilled New Jersey workers’ comp lawyer to determine if your injury or illness is work related. Nevertheless, some types of injuries are specifically referenced in the statute or in New Jersey case law:
- Cardiovascular or cerebral vascular: Section 34:15-7.2 relates to claims based on cardiovascular injury. The law provides that the employee or dependents must show that the “injury or death was produced by the work effort or strain involving a substantial condition, event or happening in excess of the wear and tear of the claimant's daily living…”
- Occupational disease: In the state of New Jersey, occupational disease is defined as “diseases arising out of and in the course of employment, which are due in a material degree to causes and conditions which are or were characteristic of or peculiar to a particular trade, occupation, process or place of employment,” or "Deterioration of a tissue, organ or part of the body in which the function of such tissue, organ or part of the body is diminished due to the natural aging process thereof is not compensable.”
- Hearing Loss: Tinnitus qualifies where the condition: (1) is due in a material degree to exposure to harmful noise at the workplace; (2) materially impairs the employee’s working ability or is otherwise serious in extent; and (3) is corroborated by objective medical testing.
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: PTSD can qualify as either an injury or an occupational illness depending on the circumstances.
Contact a New Jersey Workers Comp Lawyer as Soon as Possible
If you become injured as a result of your employment, it is important to seek emergency medical attention as soon as possible. After you are well enough to do so, it is important to speak to a legal professional at Helmer, Conley & Kasselman, P.A.
Contact our office today to discuss the extent and nature of your illness or injury and to determine if you are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. Our team of attorneys has experience with all types of work related injuries and occupational illnesses and will assist you through every step of this difficult process.
