Sauk Rapids Workers' Compensation Law Blog

When you hear about workers' compensation, horrific injuries or accidents in dangerous professions will often come to mind. However, any worker in Minnesota can suffer from workplace injuries no matter what industry you're in. Lindberg Law, P.C., is here to discuss Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, a form of repetitive stress injury.

Many workers will make repetitive motions throughout a day, regardless of what type of motion they're doing. For example, secretaries will often have to do a lot of typing. However, if you make the same motions with your wrists day in and out, you risk developing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

When Minnesota residents have disabilities or suffer on-the-job injuries that are severe enough to prevent them from working, they sometimes gain access to certain forms of public assistance, among them Social Security disability benefits. Intended to help Americans who are so severely disabled that there is little hope of them improving over time, Social Security disability benefits are monthly payments that may help you make ends meet in the absence of employment. At Lindberg Law, P.C., we recognize that the U.S. Social Security Administration has a strict definition of “disability,” an we have helped many Americans who suffered injury on the job pursue solutions that meet their needs.

The U.S. Social Security Administration reports that whether you will ultimately qualify for disability benefits will depend primarily on two sets of circumstances. First, you must have a certain amount of work credits in order to qualify for assistance, which you obtain by working for a Social Security-covered entity over an extended period of time. The exact amount of work credits you will need to qualify for Social Security disability benefits varies from year to year.

Despite all of the safety practices and protective gear, you are still taking a risk every time you walk into a construction site in Minnesota. Accidents happen, and they happen more to those who are already injured in some way. This is why, if you were unfortunate enough to get an injury at work, you would probably want to be in top form before you returned to the job.

Like it or not, the doctor in charge of your rehabilitation might want you back in the workforce before you feel you are completely ready. There could be a number of options available to you at this point, but it would probably not be in your best interest to simply refuse to perform your assigned duties. This is typically true even if you feel discomfort performing your reduced duties — but it would typically be advisable to discuss this pain with your doctor as soon as the symptoms arise.

As a construction worker in Minnesota, you know better than anyone just how dangerous construction sites can be. One particularly unique danger that construction workers face is scaffolding, a necessary component of many construction projects. Lindberg Law, P.C., is here to help in the event of any scaffolding-related incident you may find yourself involved in.

Scaffolding can be dangerous for two separate parties: those working on the scaffolding, and those who are working or moving below it. Moving around underneath scaffolding requires you to open yourself up to the potential of getting hit if anything comes crashing down. Falling items can include anything from power tools that are accidentally dropped, to pieces of the scaffolding itself if it hasn't been correctly secured, and even falling workers. This is one reason why construction workers must always wear hard hats on a construction site, even when not on the scaffolding itself.