Category: Medical Conditions (Page 6 of 19)

I’ve been thinking a lot about L&I claim for spine injury and radiculopathy lately. That’s because I have several clients that have nerve and radiculopathy issues in their L&I claim in Washington State.

 

Radiculopathy in your L&I claim for spine injury

Radiculopathy is a condition that comes up fairly frequently in a workers’ compensation claim. Understandably, people with a work injury claim tend to be nervous when they learn they may have radiculopathy. It’s a challenging condition. On top, it can be difficult to decide which treatment to pursue. Therefore, I think it’s important for people to understand radiculopathy. What it is, how it occurs, and what treatments are available under the L&I guidelines. The general information in this article isn’t a replacement for medical advice. Rather, it’s a way to help work injury claimants that don’t have medical training to learn about the condition.

 

Why is the spine important?

The first step to understanding radiculopathy is to look at the structure of the spine. Medical doctors sometimes refer to the spine as the backbone. It’s the central structural support for the entire body. The spine connects different parts of the musculoskeletal system, which enables body postures. For example, postures like sitting, standing, walking, bending, twisting, crouching, squatting, and lifting are all possible because of the spine. Therefore, the spine has a critical role in many types of employment. Consequently, it’s also susceptible to workplace injury or disease at work.

 

The spine is made up of 33 bones or vertebrae in a stack. Together, they form 3 curves or a S-shape. These vertebrae connect to each other by bony structures and intervertebral disks. The disks act like jelly-filled shock absorbers. Muscles, ligaments, and tendons also help hold the spine’s shape. Furthermore, in addition to providing structural support, the spine also protects the nerves of the spinal column. Hence, any damage to the spine means the nerves of the spinal column might be susceptible to damages as well.

 

What is radiculopathy?

In general, radiculopathy refers to a pinched or impinged nerve in the spinal cord. A pinched or impinged nerve is when there’s excessive pressure on the nerve. The cause for the pressure can be bones, cartilage, muscles, or tendons near the nerve. On top, this condition can produce a variety of symptoms. These symptoms may include weakness, radiating pain, muscle spasm, numbness, and tingling.

 

L&I claim for spine injury – How does radiculopathy happen?

Structures of the spine (or surrounding tissues) can experience an injury, displacement, or even abnormal growths. For the latter, reasons can include bone spurts, tumors, or calcium deposits. Any of these occurrences can cause excessive pressure on nerves of the spinal column resulting in radiculopathy. Personally, from my experience and observations, radiculopathy cases usually involve: (1) A significant traumatic injury to the spine resulting in an acute fracture or disc herniation; or (2) A disease causing the areas where the nerves exit the spine to narrow.

 

Radiculopathy from work injury and causal relationship

An L&I claim for spine injury can be complex. There are several challenges with radiculopathy diagnosis in L&I claims. For one, some can argue that the cause for radiculopathy is the natural aging process rather than work-related conditions. Therefore, I commonly see the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) deny coverage. For denials, they often base decisions on a medical opinion that the condition relates to the person’s age and not to a work injury or work illness.

 

Remember, we rely on medical evidence and medical opinions to show causation. Hence, if a medical provider feels that radiculopathy relates to your workers’ compensation claim, then it’s important for them to have a clear, logical, and medically-appropriate basis for the opinion. If you were diagnosed with radiculopathy or if it’s a suspected diagnosis, don’t be afraid to talk to your doctor about the condition. Moreover, ask them to explain why they think you have the condition. Also, ask whether they think it’s connected to your workplace injury or work-disease. Finally, take your time. Make sure you’re understanding the various treatment options so you can choose the one that suits you best.

Construction workers face many potential dangers in their work environment. For example, heavy lifting, awkward postures, and repetitive work activities. These are just a few examples of construction work injury. Additional examples include reaching heights, working in small spaces, hazardous materials, power tools, machinery, and weather conditions. Moreover, flying debris, slips and trips and falls are just a few conditions that contribute to construction work hazards.

 

Trench construction workplace accident

All these activities can cause serious work injury for construction workers. However, statistics show that trench construction accidents are particularly dangerous. In fact, the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) in Washington State and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) conducted research studies on this subject. Sadly, they show that two construction workers die every month in trench collapses work accidents.

 

Trenches are very dangerous because a single cubic yard of soil can weigh as much as a car. Therefore, L&I refers to unprotected trenches as an “early grave”. Consequently, there are many state and national safety initiatives, rules, and regulations, which intend to improve trench construction safety. In turn, the goal is to reduce workplace accidents and workplace injury occurrences associated with trenches.

 

Excavation work injury in the construction industry

Excavation refers to any person-made cut, cavity, trench, or depression in the earth surface. Here, there are numerous jobsite and environmental factors that impact trench safety. Some of these factors include the trench depth, soil composition, water, vibration, and weight. Other considerations are machinery, falling objects, electrical wires in or around the trench, and falls.

 

Trenching and preventing work accidents and injuries

L&I developed several safety requirements to reduce the frequency of trench digging work injury. First, whenever a trench is four or more feet deep, the construction crew must protect it by sloping, benching, shoring, and shielding.  Sloping and benching refers to removing soil to eliminate the chance of caving in. Shoring is when construction workers use supports to brace the walls of the trench. Shielding, such as a trench box, protects workers inside the trench. As OSHA says: Slope it. Shore it. Shield It.

 

Furthermore, in addition to trench protection, L&I requires a designated “competent person” on the jobsite to oversee trench creation. This person should possess the knowledge and skills to evaluate changing jobsite conditions periodically. Also, this person must take action to prevent trench collapse work accidents. For example, workers might use heavy equipment to dig the trench. Then, as they remove earth material from the soil, a spoils pile begins to grow. Thereafter, if the spoils pile and equipment are too close to the vertical walls of the trench, they create a surcharge load that increases the likelihood of trench wall collapse. Finally, vibrating equipment, adverse weather conditions, ground water, and soil-type can also increase the likelihood of a collapse.

 

Additional trench construction work safety considerations

Trench workers must also be able to easily enter and exit the trench. Usually, construction workers accomplish this using ladders that extend at least three feet above a landing. Also, other options are stairways or ramps. However, they must be designed by a registered professional engineer. Bottom line – L&I requires suitable way in or out of the trench every 25 feet.

 

Finally, workers should avoid trenches that have standing or accumulating water. On top, workers should never work under a load while in a trench. Remember, June is trench safety month across the country. For more resources on trench safety, hazards, and solutions, visit the OSHA website on Trenching and Excavation.