Worker Compensation
The challenge of managing on-the-job injury
Phone: (321) 888-3517
Email: wc@celebortho.com
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than one million workers suffer back injuries each year. Further, one-fourth of all compensation indemnity claims involve back injuries. This costs employers billions of dollars and often causes patients prolonged pain and suffering. Incredibly, 5% of the people with back-pain related disability account for 75% of the costs associated with back pain.
Much of the other jobs fall into other orthopedic categories with injuries to legs, arms, hands and feet. Not all injuries relate to heavy labor categories like construction. White-collar workers also suffer carpal tunnel syndrome from repetitive motion tasks like typing on a computer keyboard.
Celebration Orthopaedics recognizes the complex requirements of managing on-the-job back and neck injuries. While patients with back or neck pain symptoms want to get back to activity, the issues become far more complex when a person has a work-related orthopedic or back injury.
In reality, treatment of on-the-job occupational injury is similar to the requirements of an injured athlete. When a baseball player or football player has a shoulder injury, the team needs the player back on the field as fast as possible. When an employer loses a member of their team because of a back or orthopedic injury, the employer also wants that person back in the workplace as fast as possible.
So with an on-the-job orthopedic or back injury, the treatment process has to be compressed and accelerated because there is time away from work, and in some cases, workers' compensation payments are involved. So, while watchful waiting might be used for a recreational injury, employers and work comp insurance specialists may want to have definitive diagnostic tests performed quickly so treatment can be accelerated.
Another challenge is that while the employer would like the injured employee back on the job, they do not want the person to come back prematurely and end up hurting themselves again on-the-job. So, prevention of future injury is also a big concern for both the employer and orthopedic physician.
Lastly, communication has to be increased with work-related injury. The employer needs to know if treatment and rehab will take several months because they may need to fill the position temporarily so they don't lose company productivity.
Celebration Orthopaedics attempts to address all the concerns of the employer and the injured employee. In addition to independent medical exams and second opinions related to work-related back or neck injuries, the orthopedic specialists work closely with the injured worker, the employer, the insurance adjuster and the case manager to provide an accurate diagnosis of the injury, the most likely cause of it, and the most appropriate treatment for the person.