Not many people pay attention to their hands until something happens to them. If you’re a letter carrier, you already know by now the toll of carrying large packages all day takes on your hands. You develop calluses, blisters and even something called carpal tunnel syndrome which is caused by performing repetitive actions for an extended amount of time. Hand pain in postal workers is a compensable injury under OWCP as long as you meet certain conditions that we’ll talk about in this post.
Are you an injured letter carrier worried about hand pain compensation from OWCP? If you sustained your hand injury as a postal worker on the job, you may be able to recover benefits that will go a long way in taking care of your medical and daily needs as an injured letter carrier. Please contact us NOW at (773) 825-3547 to learn more about your legal options for compensation. Don’t wait, as there are strict deadlines that you must meet in order to preserve your claim.
Letter Carrier Hand Pain – How Does It Happen?
Hand pain in letter carriers is a common complaint due to the nature of the job. This is because postal workers are always carrying items from sunrise to sunset, and the variable nature of these items with regard to weight and size can make an individual adjust, albeit awkwardly, to the needs of each package. This puts undue strain on your wrists, the tendons, your hand joints as well as your fingers over time. This is likely to cause a condition called carpal tunnel syndrome which happens when the nerves passing through the wrist area as they travel to your hands become impinged or trapped by swollen tendons, causing shooting pain in your hands, all the way up to your shoulders.
In order to qualify for mail carrier hand pain compensation:
- You must report your injury (in this case, an occupational injury) to your supervisor and have them provide you with the right forms to fill. Don’t wait, as deadlines are tight.
- You must see a doctor who will then perform an objective exam and detail the extent of your postal worker hand pain as well as how it happened.
- You must make sure that your medical report is backed up by objective evidence such as an X-ray, MRI, examinations, stress or lab tests that show a certain level of impairment.
- Make sure you see a specialist, particularly a musculoskeletal physician or surgeon who understands these types of hand injuries as well as OWCP protocol
- Communicate with your physician regularly and make sure that your medical reports are all in order and complying with OWCP regulations.
Attorneys for Injured Letter Carriers – Call Us Today!
Hand injury compensation for injured postal worker usually includes continuation of pay, the issuing of a schedule award for postal workers, and in extreme cases, FERS benefits if the injury is so debilitating that early retirement is a valid option. If you’d like to get started on your OWCP hand injury claim as a postal worker or any other injured federal worker, please give us a call NOW at (773) 825-3547 for your 100% FREE and confidential consultation into all things federal workers’ compensation. We look forward to hearing from you.