Lower Back Pain at Work

Lower back injury is among the most common to occur in the workplace. The lower back contains a group of muscles that are activated in virtually every activity throughout your day. This article will analyze some of the most common causes of back injuries, provide some light medical explanation, and explore what legal options you may have for worker’s compensation.

How Can Lower Back Injury Occur?

Our Firm connects injury victims to the best attorneys in their area. As such, we’ve seen a lot of lower back injury cases. The causes are extremely diverse, but can be funneled into a few core trigger events.

• Heavy Lifting. The first cause of injury is perhaps the most obvious. We’ve all heard the phrase “lift with your legs, not with your back”. This is good advice, but it’s never really possible to take the lower back out of the equation altogether. The muscles that connect the spine with the legs are integral in any lifting process. Even cautious workers can experiences strain.
• Repetitive Movement. Some jobs require the same motions over and over again. At first it may not seem like anything that would cause health problems, but over the course of months and years the muscles can wear thin and the bones may get misaligned.
• Sustained Posture. This is perhaps the sneakiest cause of injury. Desk jobs and employment revolving around computer work would seem pretty risk averse, but the strain on the body is very real. Trying to sustain a proper seated posture is difficult and ultimately slight bends in the spine or slouching positions can degrade the health of the lower back. This can be exacerbated when an individual spends most of their time immobile, and then suddenly turns or is forced to lift a heavy object.
• Slip and Fall. Slip and fall accidents can quickly turn a good day into a rotten one. Bus workers, construction workers, and even office workers have all become victims of slip and fall from a variety of situations.
• Faulty Surgery. Back pain can develop over the course of years, but sometimes it’s the cure that causes more problems. Surgery involving fusions, pins, screws, etc, when executed imperfectly, can result in significant pain and lost work time.

What Are the Most Common Back Injuries?

The following are among the more likely ways a back injury will evolve:

• Herniated Disc. The spine is composed of a series of bones with flat discs in between for cushioning. Through vibration, pressure, or strain the discs can become misaligned and injured.
• Spinal Fracture. The most frequently occurs during a significant trauma. Rather than developing slowly over time like a herniated disc, fractures are often a result of jarring incidences like auto accidents, slip and falls, and drop impacts.
• Bacterial Infection. Sometimes when cut or injured at work individuals become exposed to bacterial infection. Certain strains target the back and can have painful side symptoms.
• Nerve Damage. Often caused by the same kind of events as spinal fracture, nerve damage can have lingering effects ranging from pain to numbness.

What Rights Do You Have to Worker’s Compensation?

If you’re back has been seriously injured it is probable you will miss work time. Your employment may even be terminated for a range of reasons (sometimes illegally). In order to figure out if your unique circumstance warrants compensation, a skilled lawyer will have to analyze your companies liability, their coverage and compensation policies, the date of event occurrence, and the details surrounding the injury.   This kind of case belongs on the desk of a competent lawyer who has a proven track record of success and is an expert at the worker’s compensation laws in your area. Trying to find the right person via a Google search or phone book lookup can be risky at best, disastrous at worst.   We recommend using our free attorney consultation service. Our job is to listen to the details of your case and determine if it warrants legal action. If it does, we will use our personally filtered network to connect you to the ideal attorney in your area.   This service costs you nothing, and is backed by decades of successful connections. Reach out today!