Estimated reading time: 10 minutes
Table of contents
- What Counts as a Repetitive Stress Injury?
- New Jersey’s Legal Standard for Occupational and Repetitive Stress Injuries
- Filing Deadlines for Gradual Workplace Injuries
- Why Repetitive Stress Injury Claims May Be Disputed
- Filing Workers’ Compensation Claims in Mercer County and Beyond
- Frequently Asked Questions About Repetitive Stress Injuries in New Jersey
- Meet One of Our Workers’ Compensation Attorneys: Jeffrey S. Monaghan
- Think You May Have a Repetitive Stress Injury Claim?
Unlike a sudden workplace accident, such as slipping on a wet floor or falling from a ladder, repetitive stress injuries often develop gradually. There may be no single accident, incident report, or specific moment when the injury occurs.
These conditions can affect warehouse employees, office and data processing workers, healthcare employees, manufacturing and assembly line workers, tradespeople, and many other workers throughout New Jersey. Repeated job duties performed day after day can gradually place stress on the wrists, shoulders, back, neck, joints, tendons, and nerves.
Repetitive stress injuries, repetitive motion injuries, and cumulative trauma conditions may develop from repeatedly performing the same movements or maintaining certain positions over extended periods.
For example, a warehouse employee who repeatedly lifts, bends, and twists may develop a back or disc condition gradually rather than from one particular lifting incident. Similarly, an office worker may develop carpal tunnel syndrome after years of repetitive keyboard or computer work.
Repetitive stress claims can be more difficult to establish than claims involving a specific workplace accident. There may be no ambulance trip, same day incident report, or single doctor’s visit that clearly establishes when the injury began.
However, New Jersey workers’ compensation law can cover qualifying repetitive stress and cumulative trauma conditions. Establishing a claim often depends heavily on medical evidence showing that the employee’s work activities materially contributed to the condition.
What Counts as a Repetitive Stress Injury?
Repetitive stress injuries, sometimes called cumulative trauma or repetitive motion injuries, can develop when a worker repeatedly performs similar physical movements or maintains certain postures over a long period.
Examples may include:
- Carpal tunnel syndrome: Repeated typing, scanning, assembly work, gripping, or use of vibrating tools may contribute to carpal tunnel syndrome.
- Tendinitis and bursitis: Repetitive lifting, reaching, gripping, or other movements can affect tendons and bursae.
- Rotator cuff injuries: Repeated overhead work, lifting, reaching, and shoulder movements may contribute to shoulder injuries.
- Lower back and disc injuries: Frequent bending, twisting, lifting, and carrying may place repeated stress on the lower back.
- Epicondylitis: Conditions commonly called tennis elbow or golfer’s elbow may develop from repeated movements of the wrist, forearm, and elbow.
Whether a particular condition is compensable depends on the employee’s medical condition, work activities, medical evidence, and other facts surrounding the claim.
New Jersey’s Legal Standard for Occupational and Repetitive Stress Injuries
Under the New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Act, workplace injury claims may involve a specific traumatic accident or a condition that develops gradually because of occupational exposure.
A traumatic injury generally involves an identifiable accident or event. For example, an employee may lift a heavy object at work and immediately experience severe back pain.
Repetitive stress and cumulative trauma claims are different because the condition may develop over months or years of performing the same work activities.
Under N.J.S.A. 34:15-31, a compensable occupational disease includes a condition arising out of and in the course of employment that is due in a material degree to causes and conditions characteristic of or peculiar to the worker’s trade, occupation, process, or place of employment.
For a repetitive stress claim, medical evidence is often critical. A physician may need to evaluate the employee’s condition, work history, job duties, physical demands, and other possible causes to determine whether the employment materially contributed to the condition.
Filing Deadlines for Gradual Workplace Injuries
Deadlines involving occupational and repetitive stress claims can differ from those involving a single workplace accident.
For a traumatic injury, a formal workers’ compensation claim generally must be filed within two years of the accident or the last payment of workers’ compensation benefits, depending on the circumstances.
For an occupational disease, a formal Claim Petition generally must be filed within two years from the date the worker first became aware of the nature of the condition and its relationship to employment.
Determining when an employee first became aware that a gradually developing condition was related to work can become an important issue in a repetitive stress claim.
Workers should notify their employer of a suspected work related repetitive stress condition as soon as possible. Because notice and filing deadlines involving occupational conditions can be fact specific, workers should avoid delaying the reporting of symptoms or seeking legal advice.
An experienced workers’ compensation attorney can review when symptoms began, when a diagnosis was made, when the employee first suspected a connection to work, and other facts that may affect the applicable deadlines.
Why Repetitive Stress Injury Claims May Be Disputed
Insurance carriers may closely examine repetitive stress injury claims because there is often no single accident establishing exactly when and how the injury occurred.
Common disputes may include arguments that:
- The condition is related to age or a preexisting medical condition.
- Activities outside of work contributed to the condition.
- There was no specific workplace accident.
- The employee’s job duties were not physically demanding enough to cause the condition.
- Medical evidence does not sufficiently connect the condition to the employee’s work activities.
- The employee’s symptoms existed before the claimed period of occupational exposure.
Documenting symptoms and work activities can be important. Workers may want to keep records describing repetitive job duties, lifting requirements, tools used, work schedules, physical demands, and when symptoms became noticeable.
The employer or insurance carrier may also require an independent medical examination to evaluate issues such as whether the condition is work related, the extent of disability, the need for additional treatment, or whether the employee can return to work.
Filing Workers’ Compensation Claims in Mercer County and Beyond
New Jersey workers’ compensation matters are handled through 15 district offices located throughout the state.
The Trenton Workers’ Compensation Court serves Mercer County. When a formal claim is filed, the case is generally assigned to a district office based on the injured worker’s county of residence. If the employee lives outside New Jersey, the claim is generally assigned based on the county where the employer is located.
Workers throughout Mercer County may encounter repetitive physical demands in a variety of occupations. A warehouse employee in Trenton, an office employee in Princeton, a distribution worker in Hamilton, or a healthcare worker in Ewing could potentially develop a repetitive stress condition depending on the nature of the employee’s job duties.
Central New Jersey also includes logistics and distribution operations, healthcare systems, manufacturing facilities, offices, construction companies, and other employers where workers may repeatedly perform physically demanding or repetitive tasks.
The same New Jersey workers’ compensation laws apply throughout the state, although the facts and medical evidence involved in every repetitive stress claim are different.
Frequently Asked Questions About Repetitive Stress Injuries in New Jersey
Q: Can I file a workers’ compensation claim for a repetitive stress injury even if my employer did nothing wrong?
A: Yes. New Jersey workers’ compensation is generally a no fault system. An employee typically does not need to prove that an employer was negligent. Instead, the employee must establish that the condition arose out of and in the course of employment and satisfies the requirements for a compensable work related condition.
Q: What if my repetitive stress injury developed slowly over several years?
A: A condition that develops gradually over several years may potentially qualify as an occupational or cumulative trauma claim. Medical evidence is often necessary to connect the condition to the repetitive physical demands or exposures associated with the employee’s work.
Documentation describing the employee’s job duties, work history, symptoms, and medical treatment can also be important.
Q: Can I continue working while I have a repetitive stress injury claim?
A: Possibly. Whether an employee can continue working depends on the severity of the condition, the employee’s job duties, and any medical restrictions.
Some employees continue working their regular jobs while receiving treatment. Others may perform modified or light duty work. If a compensable injury prevents an employee from working for the required period, temporary disability benefits may be available.
Q: What if I have worked several jobs with similar physical demands?
A: Claims involving cumulative trauma across multiple employers can be complicated. Determining which employment or period of occupational exposure is legally responsible may depend on the worker’s employment history, medical evidence, timing of symptoms, and other facts.
Workers who have held several physically demanding jobs should consider having their employment and medical history reviewed by an experienced workers’ compensation attorney.
Q: Do I need surgery to qualify for workers’ compensation benefits?
A: No. Workers’ compensation eligibility is not dependent on undergoing surgery. Repetitive stress conditions may be treated with physical therapy, medication, injections, activity modifications, ergonomic changes, or other conservative treatments. Surgery may be recommended in some cases depending on the condition.
Q: What workers’ compensation benefits may be available for a repetitive stress injury?
A: Depending on the circumstances, an employee with a compensable repetitive stress injury may be entitled to authorized medical treatment.
Temporary disability benefits may also be available when a compensable condition prevents an employee from working and the applicable requirements are satisfied.
If the condition results in a permanent impairment after treatment has concluded, the employee may also be eligible for permanent disability benefits.
Meet One of Our Workers’ Compensation Attorneys: Jeffrey S. Monaghan
Jeffrey S. Monaghan is an experienced workers’ compensation attorney with Pellettieri Rabstein & Altman.
Mr. Monaghan received his B.A. from Iona College in 1979 and earned his law degree from Seton Hall University School of Law.
His professional experience has also included service in the Office of Governor’s Counsel during the administration of Governor Thomas H. Kean, the Office of Legal and Legislative Affairs for the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Health, and the Tort Claims Section of the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office as a Deputy Attorney General.
Mr. Monaghan has obtained significant results for injured workers. His notable results include a $115,000 recovery involving work related silicosis exposure, a $350,000 recovery involving orthopedic and head injuries, $287,000 plus lifetime workers’ compensation disability benefits for a heart attack found to be causally related to employment, and a $185,000 recovery for a worker exposed to Lyme disease during the course of employment.
Mr. Monaghan is an active member of the New Jersey State Bar Association and Mercer County Bar Association. Since 2006, he has served on the Board of Governors of the New Jersey Association for Justice and has co chaired its Workers’ Compensation Section.
In 2019, he appeared as Amicus Curiae Counsel before the New Jersey Supreme Court in Kocanowski v. Township of Bridgewater, a case involving a volunteer firefighter’s entitlement to workers’ compensation benefits that resulted in a unanimous decision in favor of the firefighter.
Think You May Have a Repetitive Stress Injury Claim?
Repetitive stress injuries can be more difficult to prove than injuries caused by a single workplace accident, but the absence of one specific accident does not necessarily prevent an injured worker from receiving workers’ compensation benefits.
If repetitive job duties have left you dealing with ongoing pain, numbness, weakness, tingling, limited mobility, or a diagnosis such as carpal tunnel syndrome, tendinitis, or a back or shoulder condition, consider having your circumstances reviewed before accepting the denial of a claim.
With decades of experience representing injured workers throughout Mercer County and across New Jersey, the attorneys at Pellettieri Rabstein & Altman can evaluate your work history, job duties, medical evidence, and other circumstances surrounding your repetitive stress injury claim.
Talk to an experienced New Jersey workers’ compensation lawyer about your symptoms, medical treatment, and the repetitive work activities that may have contributed to your condition. Contact PR&A to request a free consultation.
