Repetitive Strain Injury Claim in Durham
Don't delay. Start your claim NOW!
Just tell us your name and telephone number and we will call you.
We'll give you a fair and honest assessment of your claim with no strings attached.
Van drivers, loaders and ladder users are not the only employees who can suffer from industrial illnesses. Prolonged work at a keyboard can cause severe hand and wrist problems if posture and working conditions are not carefully considered. Repetitive strain injury, or RSI can be the result.
What is Repetitive Strain Injury?
RSI involves damage to the muscles, nerves and tendons of the hands, arms and neck. Frequently repeated movements over long periods can cause inflammation and a build-up of metabolic waste products in the muscles. Over the long term, this can cause conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis and bursitis. Symptoms can include pain anywhere in the hands and arms, tightness, soreness, tingling and loss of strength. The effects can be so severe as to leave the sufferer unable to work.
I have pain in my wrists. Can I claim for repetitive strain injury?
RSI is notoriously difficult to diagnose definitively. A number of conditions causing pain or weakness in the arms can arise spontaneously or as the result of other conditions. To claim successfully for repetitive strain injury, you must be able to show a correlation with particular work conditions and that medical records support the view that RSI developed as a result. Have other employees doing the same job developed RSI at the same time? Did working conditions change shortly before RSI seemed to arise? Detailed records will be required to show that the problem is in fact due to work-related repetitive strain injury, and not a coincidental condition arising independently.
Compensation Settlement for Injury in Durham
How is a compensation settlement arrived at?
A compensation settlement for injury consists of two parts. The most immediately obvious effects of your injury are covered by a settlement for “General Damages”. This part of your compensation settlement covers “pain and suffering” and “loss of amenity”
Pain refers to the physical pain resulting from your injury.
Suffering concerns the mental and emotional aspects, so part of your settlement will be based on whether you suffer anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder, embarrassment and so on.
Loss of amenity covers activities and abilities you will no longer be able to enjoy as much as before the injury. For example, a passionate hiker who can no longer walk, or an amateur musician who loses their hearing.
The “Special Damages” part of your settlement involves financial loss or additional costs. Under this heading will come a settlement for loss of earnings if you are unable to work, costs of nursing care and changes to accommodation or equipment (e.g. cars) to allow you to live as normal a life as possible.
What is the basis for a compensation settlement?
If you are to win a settlement, you must be able to prove “on the balance of probabilities” that your injury is due to negligence by another party. Note that this does not necessarily mean that you have to be entirely fault-free; you need only demonstrate that the other party is more than 50% responsible for your injury. If you can do this, you may then be awarded a compensation settlement.
Will a pre-existing condition reduce my injury settlement?
On the contrary, the settlement awarded for your claim can include an element for aggravating an existing condition. It is most important that you give a full medical history when discussing your claim for this reason.