Source: https://greenvillelegal.com/workers-compensation-carpal-tunnel-syndrome-greenville-sc/
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 16:06:59+00:00

Document:
Carpal tunnel syndrome (“CTS”) is “a condition that causes numbness, tingling and other symptoms in the hand and arm … caused by a compressed nerve in the carpal tunnel, a narrow passageway on the palm side of your wrist.” The nerve that is being compressed is called the median nerve. The median nerve controls movement and feeling in your thumb and first three fingers. As noted above, CTS is only one of many types of repetitive stress injuries (“RSI”).
Most people think of RSI being limited to office workers bent over their computers who develop carpal tunnel in their hands and wrists. However, RSI has been found where a worker used six-, eight-, and 10-pound hammers to modify saw blades to customer specifications. See King v. International Knife & Saw, 718 SE 2d 227 (S. Car. App. 2011). And RSI can result in a back injury for which workers compensation is available. See Rhame v. Charleston County School Dist., 781 SE 2d 151 (S. Car. App. 2015).
Any line of work constantly using laser scanners (retail cashiers, medical professionals).
Vibration (e.g., jackhammers and lawn mowers).
If you develop carpal tunnel or some other RSI because of your job, you are entitled to benefits under the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Act (the “Act”). See S.C. Code Ann. § 42-1-10 et seq.
The South Carolina Supreme Court held that carpal tunnel and other RSIs are compensable under the Act in the case of Pee v. AVM, Inc., 573 SE 2d 785 (S.C. 2002).
When Do You Have to Notify Your Greenville Employer of Your RSI?
Hurt on the job? Reach out to David R. Price to discuss filing a workers’ compensation claim.
If you have suffered a workplace RSI, you must give notice to your employer “… within 90 days of the date the employee discovered, or could have discovered by exercising reasonable diligence, that his condition is compensable…” See S.C. Code § 42-15-20(c).
When the RSI interferes with the workers’ ability to perform his or her job.
The reason for this debate is that a repetitive trauma or stress injury is gradual in onset and is caused by the cumulative effects of the repetitive events. Each repeating event is like a micro-accident or micro-injury. Consequently, it is difficult to determine exactly when RSI begins. As such, some employers have tried to argue that a worker’s 90 day deadline is triggered when the worker first experiences pain. That argument has been rejected by several South Carolina courts. See King v. International Knife (holding that “[a]n employee’s obligation to report a work-related repetitive trauma injury is not triggered by the onset of pain …).
His employer tried to argue that he knew about his RSI-related back injury as early as 1994. If so, then he would have been time-barred from seeking workers’ compensation because he did not notify the District back in 1994. The court rejected that argument, finding that the fact that Rhame could — and did — work meant that the progressive RSI had not yet interfered with his ability to work. The court found that the progressive symptoms did not require Rhame to seek medical care until the late 2000s, at which point the court found that Rhame gave timely notice and he was awarded his workers’ compensation benefits.
If you have experienced a work-related RSI or if you think you might be experiencing symptoms of an RSI, contact the workers’ compensation attorneys at David R. Price, Jr., P.A. in Greenville. David grew up in Greenville and has been helping South Carolina workers and their families obtain their benefits since 2006. A workplace injury can be devastating physically, mentally and financially, and trying to navigate workers’ compensation system by yourself will only add to your stress. Call the workers’ compensation attorneys at David R. Price, Jr., P.A. today for a free consultation and help with your claim.

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