It’s not just construction and factory workers who get injured on the job. Office personnel that support those industries suffer serious and debilitating injuries too, even though they’re sitting down most of the time when they’re at work. They’re also just as likely to develop an occupational disease as anybody else. Here are some of the more common office injuries that we see:

• Head lacerations and concussions from workers banging their heads on file cabinets.
• Concussion, spinal cord and disc injuries from being hit in the head by falling objects.
• Neck and back strains from poor ergonomics.
• Repetitive motion disorders like carpal tunnel syndrome.
• Spinal injuries and fractures from slip-and-falls and trip-and-falls on the premises.

California’s workers’ compensation laws are intended to guarantee benefits to employees who were hurt in the course of their employment by an anticipated and foreseeable risk of that employment. That rule holds true, even if the employee’s own negligence was the sole cause of the accident and his or her injuries. In typical cases, the injured employee is entitled to the following:

• Payment of all reasonable medical bills in connection with the injury.
• Periodic payment of a sum equal to two-thirds of the employees average weekly wage as temporary total disability.
• A lump sum payment for any permanent partial disability.

It’s unfortunate that disputes arise between injured employees, their employers and workers’ compensation insurers. It’s not unusual for an insurer to argue that the employee’s injury was preexisting or didn’t occur at work. In the alternative, it might incorrectly state that the victim isn’t entitled to certain benefits. It’s not unusual for an insurer to say that the injury wasn’t severe enough for the employee to be off work. If it was severe enough, it might rush an injured employee back to work sooner than he or she should be returning.

Report your injury to your supervisor or other appropriate person right away. Make sure that a report of injury is made. Then, contact us. We help California employees who have been injured on the job obtain the workers’ compensation benefits that they deserve. It’s important that injured employees seeking workers’ compensation benefits fully understand their rights. We take the time to listen to our clients, answer their questions and advise them of their full range of legal options.