State: Illinois
I work in a support center where we do not have specific seats but instead are assigned a spot daily, not all are actually desks.
On Dec 2 last year I was assigned a workstation I had never used before, it was at a table rather than a desk and the ergonomics were terrible. By my first break that day my neck, shoulder and left arm were cramping unbearably, at that point I rearranged the equipment on the table hoping this would resolve the problem. I did not report an injury when this happened because I felt it was a simple strain resulting from the ergonomics of the workstation and just needed a bit of time to unknot. There are 2 co-workers that shared the cube with me that morning and can verify what occurred.
Although I still had not considered filing an accident report, I did make mention of this in an email to my supervisor on Dec 15 as an accounting for some of my time that morning. I had continued to have some pain but was still writing this off as a muscle strain or pull that just needed time.
By December 31, I was experiencing numbness in 2 of my fingers and the pain had increased. I went to a quick care center after work, they diagnosed a pinched nerve caused by that incident and ordered a week off of work to recover. I reported this to my employer then followed up with my personal physician who felt that there was not enough information to make that determination at that point. He felt further testing was needed to pinpoint the cause, and orderd an EMG. He also advised that the symptoms indicated possible carpal tunnel syndrome which would be difficult to prove as a workmans comp case and concerned about the effect it might have on my working relationship with the company advised me against filing. I reported this also to my employer, minus his concerns about the relationship, and since the pain had eased with rest returned to work after a week.
By Jan 16 the EMG came back inconclusive, the pain had become so intense I couldn't sleep. My doctor ordered me off work until we determined the cause and ordered an MRI based on some observations I had made about my pain. I reported this also to my employer and was instructed to file paperwork for a short term disability claim which I have done.
Now after all this time, the results of the MRI show 3 ruptured cervical discs, unlike carpel tunnel syndrome this actually could be directly tied to that original incident, but 2 months have passed and I never officially filed an accident report. Is it even worth considering? What type of obsticles might I be facing if I do so considering the path this has taken?
I work in a support center where we do not have specific seats but instead are assigned a spot daily, not all are actually desks.
On Dec 2 last year I was assigned a workstation I had never used before, it was at a table rather than a desk and the ergonomics were terrible. By my first break that day my neck, shoulder and left arm were cramping unbearably, at that point I rearranged the equipment on the table hoping this would resolve the problem. I did not report an injury when this happened because I felt it was a simple strain resulting from the ergonomics of the workstation and just needed a bit of time to unknot. There are 2 co-workers that shared the cube with me that morning and can verify what occurred.
Although I still had not considered filing an accident report, I did make mention of this in an email to my supervisor on Dec 15 as an accounting for some of my time that morning. I had continued to have some pain but was still writing this off as a muscle strain or pull that just needed time.
By December 31, I was experiencing numbness in 2 of my fingers and the pain had increased. I went to a quick care center after work, they diagnosed a pinched nerve caused by that incident and ordered a week off of work to recover. I reported this to my employer then followed up with my personal physician who felt that there was not enough information to make that determination at that point. He felt further testing was needed to pinpoint the cause, and orderd an EMG. He also advised that the symptoms indicated possible carpal tunnel syndrome which would be difficult to prove as a workmans comp case and concerned about the effect it might have on my working relationship with the company advised me against filing. I reported this also to my employer, minus his concerns about the relationship, and since the pain had eased with rest returned to work after a week.
By Jan 16 the EMG came back inconclusive, the pain had become so intense I couldn't sleep. My doctor ordered me off work until we determined the cause and ordered an MRI based on some observations I had made about my pain. I reported this also to my employer and was instructed to file paperwork for a short term disability claim which I have done.
Now after all this time, the results of the MRI show 3 ruptured cervical discs, unlike carpel tunnel syndrome this actually could be directly tied to that original incident, but 2 months have passed and I never officially filed an accident report. Is it even worth considering? What type of obsticles might I be facing if I do so considering the path this has taken?
The sitting at the desk/table or did something happen to you when you moved things around?