Railroad employee develops carpal tunnel syndrome from work

What would you do if you went to work every day thinking that your job was safe, only to find out that it was actually causing a long-lasting and potentially debilitating medical condition? For many in Colorado, their first thought would be to determine what the treatments are and how long he or she would have to spend away from work recovering. The Colorado workers’ compensation program can help cover some of those costs and the amount of wages lost during a recovery period.

One common type of occupational disease is carpal tunnel syndrome. This condition affects the nerves in the wrist, causing pain and numbness. One cause is repetitive forceful motions. Luckily, carpal tunnel syndrome can be fixed with a simple procedure, but it does have some recovery time.

For one man, it appears the workers’ compensation program wasn’t enough. Rather, the railway worker filed a lawsuit against his employer for allegedly failing to warn him that his position put him at risk for carpal tunnel syndrome. Though the man had started to feel pain in his wrists, he had no reason to know that his position put him at risk for carpal tunnel syndrome and so he believed his pain was part of the aging process.

For most Colorado workers, developing carpal tunnel syndrome means taking time off to have a carpal tunnel release before going back to work. Of course, those employees are often entitled to workers’ compensation funds and can work with an attorney to file a complete and accurate application.

Source: The Southeast Texan Record, “BNSF employee sues over carpal tunnel syndrome,” John Suayan, July 15, 2012

To learn more about the assistance we have provided to people with carpal tunnel syndrome, please visit our occupational disease page.

• Facebook
• Twitter
• LinkedIn