Hand Injuries and Workers’ Compensation

author by Joe Miller on Jan. 29, 2021

Employment Workers' Compensation Accident & Injury 

Summary: Hand injuries are common in many different types of jobs. Workers who do outside labor such as construction or agricultural work often suffer injuries due to the machines/tools they work with and thy types of tasks they do. Workers who work inside can suffer injuries due to repetitive use. Workers in almost every field from industrial workers to healthcare workers at some point in their career are likely to injure their hand – often severe enough that they can’t work until (and if) their hand mends. Some of the machines that can cause severe hand injuries to include saws, hammers, and assembly equipment.

Types of hand injuries

Some of the common types of hand injuries that occur during work include:

  • Carpal tunnel syndrome. This injury is a repetitive stress injury that we’ve written about before – Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Workers Compensation (joemillerinjurylaw.com). Carpal tunnel syndrome normally affects the wrist and the hand. Many officer workers and restaurant workers (such as waitresses) are likely to develop carpal tunnel syndrome.
  • Burn injuries. Workers, such as kitchen workers and restaurant workers, are regularly exposed to flames, steam, boiling liquids, and other terms of thermal burns. Electric burns can occur when an electrical current runs through an electrician’s hand. Chemical burns can occur when industrial, construction, agricultural, or other workers handle hazardous substances which spill on or seep into the skin of the hands as the worker uses their hands to manipulate the or use the chemicals.
  • Fractures and other types of blunt trauma injuries bones. Orthopedists regularly need to provide medical care (including surgeries and setting the fractures) for workers who break a finger of any one of the 27 bones in the human hand. Breaks or crushing injuries can occur if a heavy object falls on the worker’s hands, if the worker’s hands are pinned between two objects, or due to improper use of tools and machines.
  • Lacerations. Cuts to the hand can be due to working with any type of sharp object, when glass sprays into their hands during a collision, or for many other reasons.
  • Punctures. Doctors, nurses, and anyone who works with a sharp object (such as carpenters who work with hammers and nails on a regular basis) may suffer a puncture to the skin of the hand – when the sharp object penetrates their skin.

Other hands injuries include rashes and irritations of the skin

According to MedExpress:

  • 44% of hand injuries involve lacerations and cuts – accounting for over 60,000 injuries in 2017. Many victims require stitches and other treatments.
  • “Crushes caused almost 27,000 hand injuries in 2017, making them the third most common cause of hand injuries.”
  • Fractures, sprains, and tears “accounted for 21 percent of all reported workplace hand injuries in 2017.”

Employer safety suggestions to help minimize the risk of hand injuries

There is no requirement that an injured worker prove that an employer was negligent or that the employer failed to follow federal, state, or local safety protocols. If you are injured at work, you have the right to seek work loss and medical benefits – whether the employer was at fault or wasn’t at fault.

Still, nobody wants to lose time from work and seek medical help if they can avoid it. Some of the many ways employers can help ensure the safety of their employees – when it comes to avoiding hand injuries include:

  • Providing quality safety equipment. Gloves with the proper amount of insulation (or gloves made out of the proper materials such as latex) can help reduce the risk of certain types of hand injuries – such as lacerations, punctures, and some types of burn injuries. Employers should review what types of gloves could help workers who regularly are in danger of any type of hand injury.
  • Educating the worker about safety issues. Often, education is needed for workers who work with specific types of machinery or equipment. These courses can help explain the dangers of each type of machine or tool. The courses can explain when their hands are in the most danger and what steps can be taken to reduce those risks. Workers should be taught which chemicals can cause severe burn injuries, for example, or how to properly work with certain types of sharp instruments.
  • Explaining the importance of communication. Many hand injuries could be avoided if supervisors and co-workers communicate with you – so you know when to get out of the way, when to stop working so they can work, and when other workplace factors increase the risks of hand injuries.

Workers’ Compensation for Hand Injuries

All workers who suffer hand injuries are entitled to work loss benefits if you injury you hand due to a workplace accident or due to an occupational illnesses. Your North Carolina or Virginia workers’ compensation lawyer can explain when you can file a claim for a repetitive stress injury to your hand.

Temporary work loss benefits for hand injuries generally include payment of all your medical bills and about 2/3 of your average weekly income while you can’t work.

If you can’t use your hand (or any fingers or your thumb) at all, or in part, after you’ve reached the point of maximum medical improvement (no additional medical care is likely to improve your hand) – you may be entitled to permanent disability benefits according to North Carolina or Virginia law. For example, if your hand is amputated, you can seek permanent disability benefits in both states.

An experienced work injury will work with you and your doctors to help ensure that the employer doesn’t force you back to work before you can do your job.

Virtually every worker needs functioning hands in order to do their job. Our experienced North Carolina and Virginia work injury lawyers have been fighting for employees for more than 25 years. We’ll explain your rights and fight to get you all the compensation and medical care you deserve. To reach lawyer Joe Miller, Esq., call me at 888-667-8295. or fill out my online contact form to schedule an appointment. Workers now can also complete our New Electronic Case Review. It’s a new way of communicating with clients that we’re offering – to allow workers to contact us remotely.

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