Many workers in North Carolina and Virginia perform jobs that result in cervical spine or neck injuries. While some neck injuries can be treated and resolved quickly, many employees need to undergo surgery and may live with chronic long-term neck pain. Even when the pain subsides enough for the worker to return to work, many workers need continued medical care so that the neck pain doesn’t worsen, or if they have surgery, to medically monitor their condition over time.<\/p>\n
Some of the common causes of neck pain in workers include:<\/p>\n
Neck injuries can occur at a desk job, at a job where a worker stands all day, and even at remote jobs where the worker rarely comes into a work site. Many times, the symptoms of a neck injury don’t occur immediately after an accident. That’s why whenever you have any type of accident it’s always good practice to be seen by an emergency room doctor or your family doctor.<\/p>\n
That being said, it needs to be clear that a neck injury that occurs as a result of repetitive stress over time is not compensable<\/b> under the law in either Virginia or North Carolina Workers Compensation Cases. You must show an “injury by accident<\/b><\/a>,” which means your injury occurred at a very specific point in time and resulted from an activity you were performing at work. In Virginia, there may be some exceptions if the injury occurred over a very defined, relatively short, defined period of time, as in a few hours, but those exceptions are not so easy to prove.<\/p>\n According to the Cleveland Clinic<\/a>, some of the signs and symptoms of neck pain include:<\/p>\n A few of the more common types of neck injuries include:<\/p>\n According to the Cleveland Clinic, in addition to a complete physical examination and the taking of the worker’s medical history, imaging tests such as X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs are often used to evaluate the location, type, and severity of a neck injury. In some cases, nerve conduction studies (EMG\/NCS) and other tests may be required.<\/p>\n Some of the treatments for nerve injuries, depending on the type and severity of the injury, include:<\/p>\n Surgeries may include:<\/p>\n -Cervical laminectomy\/diskectomy<\/b> at one or more levels of the spine. This is a cutting back or removal of the offending disc material so it no longer presses against the nerves.<\/p>\n -Cervical Fusion-<\/b>if one or more discs are severely deformed or damaged, it may be necessary to remove the disc material entirely, and replace it with bone material so that the spinal processes at those levels eventually fuse into one bone. The bones at those levels are usually permanently affixed with plates and screws.<\/p>\n -Cervical Foraminotomy- <\/b>the cervical foramina are tiny holes through your spinal bones. They serve as pathways where the nerves coming off the spinal cord go out and innervate your upper extremities. Sometimes, those holes get tight from bony material or from the nerves being inflamed and the holes may need to be widened and the surfaces smoothed, such that the nerves are not being compressed or “caught” by the bony material. The surgeon goes in and frees the nerve from any compression.<\/p>\n Pain Management<\/b><\/a>. If severe, chronic neck pain continues even after surgery, the patient may be transferred to a pain management physician. This may include steroid injections and other medications to help relieve the pain.<\/p>\n Other possible therapies include acupuncture and massages.<\/p>\n Home therapies include hot therapy such as taking a hot shower or using a hot towel or heating pad to help blood flow \u2013 and cold therapy such as using a bag of frozen vegetables for 15 minutes every several hours which “narrows your blood vessels, reducing inflammation and swelling.” Cold therapy is generally used immediately after the injury while heat therapy is used later.<\/p>\n The time for a neck injury to heal well enough for a worker to return to work varies. For some workers, just a few weeks are required. Other workers may need several months of treatment. Some workers, especially those who were involved in heavy, manual labor, may never be able to return to their previous job after a serious cervical injury that requires surgery.<\/p>\n If you were injured in an accident during the scope of your employment, as long as your doctor is holding you out of work, you should be entitled to temporary disability wage benefits (2\/3rds of your average weekly wage) and payment of all their medical bills. In North Carolina, (NOT Virginia) even if you return to work, you may be entitled to additional money for any permanent partial impairment<\/a> in your spine which occurred as a result of your injury.<\/p>\n At Joe Miller Law Ltd., our North Carolina and Virginia workers’ compensation lawyer has helped thousands of injured workers and workers with occupational illnesses obtain the benefits they deserve. We understand the unique challenges involved with neck injury claims. We work with your doctors to confirm what type of injury you have, what treatments you need, and how your neck injuries affect your ability to work. To speak with a seasoned workers’ compensation lawyer call attorney Joe Miller, Esq., at 888-667-8295.<\/b><\/p>\n Our law firm does have a way for you to provide your details of your accident and injuries if you simply want to do that electronically from the comfort and safety of your home at any time<\/b> of day or night. To utilize this service, simply click here<\/a>: New Electronic Case Review<\/a>.<\/p>\n We’ll get back to you, typically within 24 hours to provide our response as to whether your situation is one where we can provide you with legal representation. If we require more information, we’ll contact you and ask for that information in order to make that determination as to whether we are the best folks to assist you. If we ultimately determine that we cannot represent or assist you, we will not leave you high and dry. We’ll do our best to provide you with other resources to assist you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Many workers in North Carolina and Virginia perform jobs that result in cervical spine or neck injuries. While some neck injuries can be treated and resolved quickly, many employees need to undergo surgery and may live with chronic long-term neck pain. Even when the pain subsides enough for the worker to return to work, many … <\/p>\nWhat are the symptoms of neck pain?<\/h3>\n
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What are the different types of neck injuries a worker can suffer:<\/h3>\n
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How is a neck injury diagnosed?<\/h3>\n
What are the treatments for neck injuries?<\/h3>\n
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Workers’ compensation benefits while you’re treating for a neck injury<\/h3>\n