Carpal Tunnel Workers’ Comp Lawyer in San Diego
Carpal tunnel workers’ comp lawyer help for San Diego workers whose hands went numb after years of typing, scanning, sewing or line work. When the insurer disputes your date of injury or which employer pays, or blames diabetes or a hobby, we help you answer it.
How carpal tunnel develops at work
Carpal tunnel syndrome happens when the median nerve gets squeezed where it passes through the wrist. It rarely comes from one accident. It builds up from the same motions repeated thousands of times a day, and it often starts as tingling or numbness at night before it shows up at work. Jobs where we see it include:
- Typing, data entry and working a mouse for most of the shift
- Scanning, picking and packing orders, or running a register
- Sewing, assembly and other fast, repeated hand work on a line
- Food prep, cutting and meat processing
- Using vibrating or impact tools, like drills and grinders
- Housekeeping, cleaning and patient care that means gripping and wringing all day
Hand and wrist problems come up often in warehouse work, where scanning and wrapping go on all shift, and in healthcare, where nurses and aides chart, grip and lift. Our pages on warehouse injury claims and nurse workers’ comp cover the issues specific to those jobs.
Carpal tunnel is the best known repetitive stress injury, but the same kind of claim covers tendinitis, trigger finger, cubital tunnel syndrome at the elbow and De Quervain’s tenosynovitis at the thumb. Common signs are numbness in the thumb and first fingers, a weak grip, dropping things, and pain that runs up the forearm.
What workers’ comp covers for carpal tunnel
A repetitive stress injury gets the same workers’ comp benefits as an injury from a single accident. For carpal tunnel, that usually means:
- Medical treatment: doctor visits, wrist splints, medication, hand or occupational therapy, steroid injections, nerve conduction testing and, when it’s needed, carpal tunnel release surgery on one or both wrists. Approved care should cost you nothing.
- Temporary disability (TD): checks while your doctor says you can’t work, including the weeks after surgery, usually two-thirds of your average weekly pay, up to a state maximum.
- Modified duty: restrictions like limited keyboard time, no repetitive gripping or no vibrating tools. If your employer can’t offer work within them, TD should continue.
- Permanent disability (PD): if you’re left with numbness, weakness or lost grip strength, a rating based on how much hand function you lost sets more payments.
- A job displacement voucher for retraining if you can’t go back to work that uses your hands the same way and your employer has no other job for you.
Getting carpal tunnel surgery approved
Surgery requests go through utilization review. Insurers often want test results and a trial of splinting or therapy first, and they may deny surgery when the records don’t show it. If that happens, your doctor can ask for independent medical review before the deadline on the denial letter. Ask your doctor to document what you’ve already tried and what the tests showed.
Common problems with carpal tunnel and repetitive stress claims
Because there’s no single accident, a carpal tunnel claim is a cumulative trauma claim, and insurers dispute these more than most. The fights usually come down to three questions.
When did the injury happen?
For a cumulative trauma, the date of injury isn’t the day your hand first hurt. In California it’s generally the date you first lost time from work or needed treatment because of it, and knew, or reasonably should have known, that your job caused it. That date affects which deadlines apply and which insurer pays, so it’s often argued over.
Which employer is responsible?
If you did repetitive work for more than one employer, or your employer changed insurers, they may each point at the other. Responsibility generally falls on the employers and insurers during the last year you were exposed to the repetitive work before the date of injury. An argument between insurers over who pays shouldn’t leave you without care, and a judge can sort it out.
Was it really your job?
Insurers often blame something outside work: diabetes, thyroid problems, arthritis, pregnancy, weight or age, or hobbies like gaming, knitting or gardening. Work doesn’t have to be the only cause. If your job contributed, the claim can still be accepted. Those other factors may come back later as an apportionment argument that lowers permanent disability, and the medical reasoning behind it can be challenged.
Other common problems include waiting months to report because the symptoms came on slowly, a doctor who never asked about your job duties, and surgery or nerve testing denied in utilization review.
When to call a lawyer about carpal tunnel
Tell your employer in writing as soon as you connect your symptoms to your work, and ask for a claim form. Call a lawyer if any of these happen:
- Your workers’ comp claim was denied, or the insurer says it needs more time to decide
- Surgery, a nerve conduction study or hand therapy your doctor asked for was denied
- The insurer blames diabetes, another health condition or a hobby
- You worked for more than one employer, or you quit or were let go
- Light duty still has you doing the same hand work
- You were sent to a QME, given a rating, or offered a settlement
A workers’ comp lawyer’s fee is approved by a judge and paid out of your award, so there is nothing to pay up front.
How we handle your carpal tunnel claim
Step 1
Free case evaluation
Tell us what happened. We review your claim and explain your options in plain language, at no cost.
Step 2
We take over the claim
We file the paperwork, track every deadline and handle all communication with the insurance company.
Step 3
Treatment and benefits
We push for the medical care and temporary disability payments the law provides while you recover.
Step 4
Settlement or award
Once your condition is stable, we fight for a fair disability rating and settlement, or present your case to a judge.
Meet the lawyer who will handle your claim
Carpal tunnel workers’ comp questions
I have carpal tunnel in both hands. Is that one claim or two?
Usually it’s one cumulative trauma claim that covers both wrists. Make sure both hands are listed on your claim form and in every medical report. If only one wrist is accepted, the other can be left out of your treatment and your permanent disability rating.
The insurer says my diabetes caused my carpal tunnel. Is my claim over?
No. Work doesn’t have to be the only cause. If your job contributed to the condition, it can still be a work injury. Diabetes may come up later in an apportionment argument about permanent disability, but the doctor has to explain how and why, and that opinion can be challenged.
Can I file a carpal tunnel claim after I quit or changed jobs?
Often, yes. Because carpal tunnel builds up over time, the claim may be against the employer where you did the repetitive work, even if you’ve moved on. California has extra rules for claims filed after a layoff or firing, but there are exceptions, for example when you reported symptoms or got treatment before you were let go.
Do I need a nerve conduction test for a carpal tunnel claim?
You don’t need one to file. But a nerve conduction study, often done with an EMG, is the test doctors and insurers rely on to confirm carpal tunnel, and insurers usually want it before they approve surgery. If the test is denied, your doctor can ask for independent medical review.
I’m on light duty, but I still use my hands all day. What can I do?
Your employer has to follow the restrictions your doctor wrote, not just change your job title. Tell your doctor exactly what the new tasks involve so the restrictions can be made clearer. If your employer can’t offer work within them, temporary disability should generally be paid instead.
More help with your claim
- Nurses & Healthcare WorkersNurse workers’ comp lawyer in San Diego for RNs, CNAs and caregivers hurt lifting patients, by patient violence or needlesticks. Free case review.
- Warehouse WorkersWarehouse injury lawyer in San Diego for lifting, forklift and repetitive strain injuries, quota-pace claims and temp workers. Free case review.
- Denied ClaimsDenied workers’ comp claim in San Diego? Our lawyers challenge denials, meet appeal deadlines and fight for the benefits you were refused.
- View all
Numbness or pain in your hands from work?
Get a free case evaluation about your carpal tunnel claim. You pay nothing up front.