$104,000 Workers' Compensation Settlement
Injury While Lifting a Heavy Package on the Job
While lifting a heavy package during the course of his employment, our client injured both his shoulder and ACL. Sexner Injury Lawyers LLC filed a workers’ compensation claim with the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission and, after lengthy negotiations with the employer’s insurer, reached a $104,000 settlement in workers’ compensation benefits for our injured client.
Jobs at Risk for Lifting Injuries
Workplace lifting injuries can happen in many different jobs. OSHA’s heavy lifting guidance identifies heavy lifting as a major source of workplace injury and discusses risk factors such as heavy objects, awkward postures, frequent lifting, long-duration lifting, poor handholds, and environmental conditions.
People lift objects at work and at home every day, but lifting injuries can occur for many reasons. These may include lifting from an awkward angle, overexertion, repeated lifting, twisting while lifting, lack of proper training, or lack of proper equipment.
Some jobs involve more frequent lifting risks than others, including:
- Custodians, janitors, and maintenance workers
- Landscapers
- Hospital staff
- Warehouse employees
- Nursing home employees
- Factory workers
- Nurses and patient-care workers
- UPS, FedEx, postal, warehouse, and delivery workers
- Construction workers
- Furniture movers
- Caterers
- Restaurant servers, waiters, waitresses, and kitchen staff
- Retail workers
Employees in office settings may be less likely to suffer lifting injuries because their regular duties often do not involve heavy manual labor. Even so, a work injury may still occur while lifting a file box, moving supplies, carrying equipment, or handling an unexpectedly heavy object.
Common Injuries Caused by Heavy Lifting
Heavy lifting can injure muscles, tendons, joints, discs, ligaments, and other body structures. A single lift may cause immediate pain, or repeated lifting may contribute to injury over time.
- Muscle injuries: The lower back often absorbs significant stress during lifting. Muscle strains, tears, and tendon injuries may require rest, therapy, injections, or surgery in severe cases.
- Spine injuries: A lifting injury may cause a disc in the spinal column to herniate, rupture, or bulge. This can place pressure on a nerve and cause pain that radiates into the lower body or legs.
- Joint injuries: Shoulders, elbows, knees, hips, and other joints may become irritated, strained, torn, or otherwise damaged during lifting or twisting.
- Knee and ACL injuries: A worker may injure the knee when lifting, carrying, pivoting, slipping, or trying to stabilize a heavy object.
- Shoulder injuries: Lifting away from the body, lifting overhead, or carrying a heavy object unevenly may injure the shoulder joint, tendons, or rotator cuff.
Avoiding a Lifting Injury
Even when a person tries to use care, lifting injuries can happen almost anywhere. The object does not always need to be extremely heavy. A file box, package, copy-paper case, tool, patient-care item, restaurant supply, or delivery item can still cause injury depending on weight, posture, repetition, distance, and workplace conditions.
Commonly recommended lifting practices include:
- Keep the object as close to your body as reasonably possible.
- Keep your feet about shoulder-width apart, with one foot slightly ahead of the other.
- Use small steps with your feet to change direction instead of twisting your torso.
- Keep your shoulders aligned with your hips when moving or turning.
- Bend at the knees and hips when lifting from a lower position.
- Maintain good posture with your back straight, shoulders square, and chest up.
- Avoid twisting your body while lifting or carrying an object.
- Use your hips and knees when lowering the object.
- Ask for help or use proper equipment when the object is too heavy, awkward, or unsafe to lift alone.
Workers' Compensation After a Lifting Injury
A lifting injury that happens while performing job duties may support a workers’ compensation claim. The claim may involve medical treatment, temporary disability benefits, permanent disability benefits, work restrictions, therapy, surgery, or a negotiated settlement.
In this case, our client suffered shoulder and ACL injuries while lifting a heavy package at work. After filing a claim and negotiating with the employer’s insurer, Sexner Injury Lawyers LLC secured a $104,000 workers’ compensation settlement for the injured worker.
If you were injured while lifting, carrying, moving, pushing, or pulling something at work, call Sexner Injury Lawyers LLC at 312-243-9922 or contact us online for a free consultation.
