One of the most common work injuries sustained by those that lift heavy objects is a hernia.
Once you develop a hernia, you will feel pain every time you try to carry out a physically demanding task. For this reason, you need to get medical treatment as soon as possible after noticing your hernia. Below, we explain what this injury is and how a work injury lawyer can help you obtain compensation for its treatment.
What is a Hernia?
Your body needs to hold everything in place to keep itself running correctly. One example of this principle is the muscles and tissues that surround your organs and stabilize them. When you develop a hernia, a small piece of your intestine breaks through its surrounding tissue and causes excruciating pain. While you can sometimes solve this issue with therapy, many people require surgery to get better.
Different Kinds
The following are the four types of hernias that you could be a victim of.
Inguinal – This is the most common type of hernia. It describes intestines breaking through the inguinal canal, which is the same as your groin area.
Hiatal – Less common is a Hiatal hernia, which occurs in the chest.
Umbilical – This kind of hernia is similar to the Inguinal variety, but happens higher up near the belly button.
Incisional – Lastly, incisional hernias are not defined by their location. Instead, they describe intestinal bulging at a point where you received an incision in a prior surgery.
Symptoms
The primary symptom of all hernias is pain. For each of them, you will feel a certain level of discomfort in that area based on the nature of your specific situation. What this pain often leads to is overall weakness and an inability to carry out work-related tasks. For Hiatal hernias, you may also feel difficulty swallowing and acid reflux.
Possible Workplace Causes
A hernia can happen in two ways. First, through an acute event. If you are a worker that does a lot of lifting and moving heavy objects, you could tear your abdominal wall due to too much strain. Second, your abdominal wall may slowly degrade over many months or years of heavy lifting. In both cases, you will likely feel a sudden, sharp pain in your groin or midsection and need to seek medical attention right away.
Can You Collect Workers Compensation Benefits?
You can likely make a workers’ compensation claim for a hernia. If you noticed the issue while at work, the process will be relatively straightforward. If your problem flares up outside of the workplace, but you believe that your job is the blame, you may still eligible but will likely have a tougher road ahead.
The sum of benefits you are eligible to receive is not easy to predict. The reason is that every hernia is different and will require a unique treatment plan. The best way to find out where you stand is to see a doctor and speak with a workers compensation lawyer. With the help of those two professionals, you will be on your way to obtaining the compensation you need to move forward.