How Our Ohio Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Organizes Evidence You Need to Prove Task-Related Carpal Tunnel Injuries
After months of struggling with burning, aching, and tingling sensations in your hands and wrists, a doctor's diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome confirmed what you suspected: years of repetitive motions on the job have taken their toll. But how can you prove the condition is work-related so you can receive workers' compensation benefits?
At Monast Law Office, we've helped countless workers in Columbus and throughout Ohio establish the connection between their work activities and carpal tunnel syndrome. We’ll partner with you to build a strong claim that meets the approval requirements of the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC).
Common Workplace Activities That Lead to Carpal Tunnel Claims
The repetitive motions required in many modern jobs put workers at risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Our team has a great deal of experience helping people with repetitive stress injuries such as CTS, tendinitis, tenosynovitis, and epicondylitis. These conditions often happen to people in many occupations, such as:
- Manufacturing and assembly line workers who repeatedly grip, twist, and manipulate small parts throughout their shifts, placing constant stress on the median nerve.
- Office professionals who spend hours typing at poorly positioned keyboards or using computer mice without proper ergonomic support.
- Construction workers who regularly run vibrating power tools, strip and twist wires, or perform repetitive hammering or turning motions.
- Meat processing employees who make the same cutting motions hundreds of times per shift.
- Health care workers who often lift and transfer patients or perform detailed manual tasks with specialized tools.
- Retail staff who scan, bag, and continuously unpack and stock merchandise.
- Food service workers who chop ingredients and lift heavy cookware for extended periods.
- Hairstylists who hold scissors and tools at different angles throughout appointments.
- Massage therapists who must apply continuous pressure with their hands and wrists and can’t rest between appointments without losing work.
So, as we build your carpal tunnel workers’ comp case, we’ll be specific and demonstrate how your particular job duties over the years contributed to the injury.
Wait—If These Injuries Are So Common, Why Are Claims Often Denied?
Great question! The BWC heavily scrutinizes and might even deny your repetitive strain injury claim when:
- Medical evidence doesn't establish work causation.
- Documentation shows significant non-occupational risk factors.
- Required forms weren't filed within statutory deadlines.
- Treatment wasn't obtained from BWC-certified providers.
- Job duties don't meet established risk thresholds.
- Proper reporting procedures weren't followed.
Winning a carpel tunnel workers’ comp claim depends on establishing clear documentation that links the condition directly to your job-related activities. Let's examine the essential evidence needed to support your case.
How Can You Win a Carpal Tunnel Workers’ Comp Claim? Let Monast Law Office Help
Under Ohio law, employees generally have two years to file a workers’ compensation claim for an occupational disease. However, CTS develops slowly, so we must start documenting every medical issue that potentially contributes to the condition.
For example, here’s what happened to our client, Kathryn. She worked as a dental tech for over 20 years, so it’s safe to say she knew her way around the office. But one day, while taking X-rays, she accidentally tripped and fell, fracturing her elbow and wrist. After surgery—which required a lot of pins and screws—she developed CST. You know how tiny those dental instruments can be! She didn’t have the grip strength or wrist mobility to handle them—and she was always in pain.
But like a trooper, she followed every recommendation: rehabilitation, therapy treatments, and vocational evaluations. Nothing helped. When it was apparent that she couldn't return to her profession, we helped her settle a fair workers’ compensation claim.
So the first thing you should do is get thorough medical care and maintain all records, which:
- Creates an official origin point of how and when symptoms began.
- Documents the progression of your condition.
- Shows that you sought treatment promptly and the nature of that care.
- Provides expert medical opinion on work-relatedness.
- Shows you're following prescribed treatment plans.
- Helps prevent your condition from worsening.
Then, our job is to anticipate how the BWC will put your case under a microscope and work quickly to detail every part of your injury, such as:
- Gathering comprehensive medical evidence supporting work-causation
- Documenting the full scope of your job duties and ergonomic risk factors
- Analyzing your workstation setup and tool usage
- Working with medical experts who understand occupational injuries
- Providing evidence of any progressive worsening of your carpal tunnel related to your tasks
- Asking for co-worker statements about similar CST symptoms or injuries
- Using photos or videos showing the repetitive motions required by your job
Understanding these and other BWC review criteria helps us work together to meet its requirements and gets you closer to a proper benefits claim that meets acceptance standards. And after more than 30 years, we also understand what pitfalls raise red flags for denial and can help you avoid those, too.
