What are Repetitive Stress Injuries?
Repetitive stress injury (also referred to as repetitive strain injury and described using the acronym RSI) refers to a wide range of conditions of the muscles, tendons, nerves, and other soft tissues which have been caused by repetitive use of a certain part of the body. As nearly all jobs in the healthcare sector involve the carrying out of repetitive manual tasks on a daily basis, it will come as no surprise that RSIs are a common risk factor for nurses and care workers.
Some of the more common RSIs include:
- Bursitis – an inflammation of the fluid-filled sacs between bones, tendons, joints and muscles.
- Carpal tunnel syndrome – compression of the median nerve through the carpal tunnel in the wrist area causing numbness and pain in the hand.
- DeQuervain’s Tenosynovitis – the sheaths of the short thumb extensor and long thumb abductor become thickened, resulting in tenosynovitis at the base of the thumb.
- Dupuytren’s contracture – connective tissue under the skin of the palm contract and toughen over time causing one or more of the fingers to bend into the palm of the hand.
- Epicondylitis – strenuous overuse of the muscles and tendons where the bone and tendon join giving rise to conditions like tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow.
- Ganglion – fluid-filled swellings forming on top of joints or tendons in the wrists, hands, and feet.
- Rotator cuff syndrome – inflammation of tendons and muscles in the shoulder.
- Tendinitis – inflammation of a tendon that has been subjected to a repetitive activity.
- Tenosynovitis – the sheath around the tendon becomes inflamed.
- Thoracic Outlet Syndrome – narrow passages in the neck become constricted, leading to compression of neural and vascular flow.
- Trigger finger – a fingers or thumb catches in a bent position.
How Will I Know if I’m Suffering From an RSI?
The signs and symptoms of RSIs vary widely, depending on which part of the body is affected and what the cause of the injury is. Often symptoms may initially only occur when the repetitive task which is the source of the problem is being done and will then dissipate slowly once the task has been completed. However, the typical experience is that if the task continues to be repeated the symptoms worsen and they remain long after the task has been finished and can eventually result in constant pain or discomfort.
Common signs and symptoms of RSIs include:
- A throbbing sensation in the affected area.
- Coldness in the hands or fingers.
- Loss of sensation or strength in the hand.
- Loss of fine-motor coordination (such as having difficulties doing up buttons).
- Fatigue.
- Pain and tenderness in the affected area.
- Pins and needles.
- Sleeping difficulties.
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Am I Entitled To Be Compensated If My Injuries Are Due to Repeating the Same Task Over and Over?
What Are My Employer’s Duties to Ensure That RSIs Don’t Occur?
Your employer has a duty to continuously carry out health and safety risk assessments to identify what tasks are likely to give rise to RSIs and, once these are identified, to devise ways to ensure that these types of injuries are avoided, whether this is by means of ensuring appropriate rest periods, using different equipment, or devising alternative systems of work which remove the need for the actions that will cause an RSI if carried out repetitively.
If some activity in your job is the source of RSI, restrictions on that work activity may be necessary in order to ensure that more serious, irreversible damage does not occur. A comprehensive ergonomic worksite evaluation should be conducted in which your employer uses the services of a physical or occupational therapist to assist in identifying specific problems. However, if you have already sustained a severe form of RSI you may well be forced to change occupations as any further repetition of the offending activity could prove detrimental to your health.
How Much Time Do I Have To Bring a Claim Relating to an RSI?
One of the features of RSIs that can be problematic for employees when seeking to recover compensation for their injuries is that there is no one event that happened on a specific date that can be ascribed to being the cause of the injury. Typically, symptoms will initially be very mild and will become progressively worse as the offending activity is repeated. This deterioration can occur over months or even years. By the time a healthcare employee has realised that they’re suffering from a serious injury that has been caused by their work activities, it may be very difficult to say when exactly they first suffered from what could be considered to be a significant injury. This gives an employer to argue that, even though the RSI may have been caused by their failure in their duty of care to their employee, there do not have to pay a penny in compensation because the employee failed to commence their claim for compensation within two years of the date that they first became aware that they had suffered an injury at work.
For this reason, it is extremely important that any healthcare professional who is suffering from a work-related RSI, no matter how mild or seemingly insignificant, seeks legal advice without delay to ensure that steps are taken to prevent their entitlement to compensation from being extinguished by failing to commence their claim within the time period allowed by the Statute of Limitations.
Repetitive Stress Injury Compensation Claims
If you have suffered due to an avoidable repetitive stress injury, contact our solicitors today to make a start on your claim or gather more information. Call us on 1800 390 555 and an experienced member of staff will discuss your situation and potential next steps. You can also email on info@mccarthy.ie and we will get back to you as soon as we can.
About McCarthy + Co
With more than 30 years of experience in dealing with personal injury claims, McCarthy + Co. has experience bringing claims relating to a wide variety of workplace scenarios. We are a family-run business, and we pride ourselves on offering honest, impartial, and helpful advice.
Our offices are based in Dublin and Cork but we work with clients throughout Ireland in locations ranging from Galway to Waterford. You can count on us for legal advice, guidance, and assistance on any form of personal injury.
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Flor McCarthy
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Flor McCarthy wears multiple hats, not only as the managing partner of one of Ireland’s leading law firms, but also as an author, speaker and an acknowledged expert in client service, innovation and marketing.
Beginning his academic journey at UCC, Flor furthered his education with a master’s degree in law from UCD. After gaining valuable experience as a solicitor in Dublin, the allure of home and the family brought him back to West Cork to contribute his expertise to the family business.
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John McCarthy
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John McCarthy is a seasoned solicitor with almost 20 years of experience, specialises in personal injury and medical negligence claims, focusing particularly on high-value compensation cases. His extensive litigation experience spans Circuit Court, High Court and Supreme Court levels.
John's practice involves a diverse range of cases, from personal injury and wrongful death to property damage, defective products, professional negligence and judicial reviews.
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