Sprains and Strains in the Airline Industry
Lawyers for Chicago Workers’ Compensation Claims
Sprains and strains involve damage to the body’s soft tissues. They can include injury to muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Strains involve injuries to muscles or tissue linking muscle to brain. Sprains involve the stretching or tearing of ligaments, which are the tough fibrous tissue linking bones to other bones or cartilage. Ankles are the most common location for sprains. Initially you may be able to treat a sprain with RICE (rest, ice, compression, and elevation). However, if you experience a severe sprain on the job, you might need surgery. If you have suffered a sprain or strain in the airline industry, a skilled Chicago workers’ compensation attorney can help you navigate the process for seeking benefits.
Sprains and Strains in the Airline Industry
Symptoms of sprains and strains can include pain, bruising, swelling, difficulty moving a joint, numbness in some part of the injured area, pain over the bones, or inability to put weight on the affected joint. They happen if you overextend or tear ligaments while severely stressing joints. Factors that can contribute to sprains and strains in the airline industry include slippery or uneven surfaces, the movement of the airplane, poor quality equipment, and fatigued muscles from travel.
If you suffer a sprain or strain in the airline industry, you should notify your supervisor or a person in a supervisory role right away. While you can give spoken notice, providing written notice can prevent your employer from later claiming not to have been given notice of the workplace injury. This can be significant in case you need to pursue workers’ compensation benefits. An experienced work injury lawyer can help you with the specifics involved in giving your employer notice of your sprain or strain.
Benefits
There are numerous types of workers’ compensation benefits available for workplace sprains and strains in Illinois. These benefits are provided without regard to your ability to prove fault. These include benefits for disability, lost wages, medical care, disfigurement, and vocational rehabilitation.
Often those who suffer sprains or strains in the airline industry need temporary disability benefits. These are benefits that provide partial wage replacement. For example, if you sprain your ankle and can’t walk, you may need to stay off your feet and take time off work. You can get temporary disability benefits paid at 66 2/3% of your average weekly wage. These benefits will only start after you miss three days of work. It usually takes 5-14 days to recover from a grade one ankle sprain, in which there is difficulty walking, joint stiffness, swelling, and pain. That means you may be able to get temporary disability benefits three days after spraining your ankle. You won’t get paid for the first three days unless you miss more than 14 days of work at the airline, and in that case you may be able to get benefits for the first three days, too. If you have a grade two sprain of your ankle, it could take 4-6 weeks to recover.
Sometimes a chronically sprained ankle left untreated can result in a ligament being stretched or torn, and an ankle being unstable. The joint may be damaged resulting in early arthritis and long-term damage. Medical benefits are available for workplace injuries through workers’ compensation, and it’s important to take advantage of those medical benefits. Workers’ compensation is supposed to pay for all reasonably necessary medical treatment related to a work injury so long as treatment is authorized.
In some cases, a wage differential award may be available for permanent impairment. If you need to walk a lot for your airline industry job, chronic ankle instability may require you to take a different position. If the position pays less, you may be able to get wage differential benefits in an amount of 2/3 of the difference between your average weekly wage before and after the injury.
Workers’ Compensation Attorneys for Chicago Airline Employees
If you need help seeking workers’ compensation benefits in Chicago, a seasoned work injury lawyer can help. At Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca, we represent injured workers in Quincy, Rockford, Aurora, and Champaign, as well as Kane, Cook, Winnebago, Adams, and Sangamon Counties. Contact us at 312-724-5846 or by completing our online form.