Wauwatosa Workers' Compensation Law Blog

If asked what conditions might qualify you to receive workers’ compensation benefits, like many in Wauwatosa, you would likely limit your answer to injuries resulting from a workplace accident. It may be for this very reason why you have not talked to your employer about the depression you are suffering from. It might seem odd to cite depression as the reason you need workers’ compensation benefits (as many may say that it is next to impossible to empirically prove that your job is the source of it). This prompts the question as to whether or not it is possible. 

Depression has been recognized as having an impact in the workplace (indeed, according to information shared by the professional safety publication EHS Today, depression effects a $51 billion cost on the American workplace every year). Yet that impact is often viewed from the perspective of you experiencing depression due to having suffered a work-related injury. What if depression is your work-related injury? 

Named for an anatomy professor in Ireland who wrote an important paper about it, a Colles fracture is a break of the distal radius. In other words, it is a fracture of one of the two bones in your forearm that occurs at the wrist. According to WebMD, nearly 10% of all fractures that occur in the United States involve the wrist, which means that Colles fractures are very common. A workplace accident in Wisconsin that involves a forceful impact to your wrist or a fall onto an outstretched hand may result in a Colles fracture. 

Some of the symptoms of a broken wrist are similar to those of a sprain, including bruising, pain, swelling and tenderness of the wrist. Your doctor may need to perform an X-ray to determine whether the wrist is fractured or sprained. Another symptom that indicates a possible fracture is deformity of the wrist, i.e., an abnormally bent or crooked appearance. However, this is not conclusive in itself. 

Many people in Wisconsin have jobs that require them to be outside for much or even all of their working shifts. You might be one of these people. Some of the jobs that require this include positions in road construction, agriculture, building construction, public works, parks maintenance and more. When the summer months hit and the temperatures spike, you may be at risk of developing a heat-related illness or injury. These things can be serious and even lead to death in extreme cases.

A report by USA Today explained that only three states in the country currently have laws in place that require employers to provide appropriate protection for employees exposed to extreme heat. Two of these states are on the west coast and only one is in the Midwest. That state is nearby Minnesota. Workers in Wisconsin and the other 46 states and the District of Columbia have no such laws on their side, only general guidelines set forth by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Most workers in Wauwatosa may feel a strong sense of loyalty towards their employers. This no doubt stems from the gratitude they have for a company paying their wages and offering them employment benefits that allow them to support themselves and their families. This feeling of loyalty may prompt them to avoid seeking assistance if and when they are injured on the job. They may worry that by seeking workers' compensation, they are forcing their employers to deal with troubling situations that could reflect badly on them. This concern may also cause workers to fear being retaliated against if they were to pursue such a claim. 

Stories such as that of an Illinois woman may reinforce these fears. The woman claims that she developed carpal tunnel syndrome as a consequence of her job working for a local auto dealership. She approached the company after learning of her diagnosis and stated her intention of possibly filing a workers' compensation claim. A week later, she says that she was fired from her job without even being given an explanation. In a lawsuit that she subsequently filed against the company, she stated her belief that she was fired simply because she mentioned a potential workers' compensation claim.