A serious back injury can sideline you for months, put your financial stability at risk, and potentially even limit what you’re able to do for the rest of your life. Ohio’s workers’ comp system provides benefits to cover those losses, but back injury claims are some of the hardest to win without experienced legal help. Insurers know how to fight these cases, and they do it aggressively.
At Philip J. Fulton Law Office, our lawyers have represented Ohio workers with serious back injuries for over 40 years, and we know how to push back against underhanded insurance tactics. Workers’ compensation is what we do — in fact, our founding attorney literally wrote the book on workers’ comp in the state. If a work-related back injury has put you out of work, contact our Columbus-based law firm today to arrange a free initial consultation with an Ohio workers’ compensation lawyer for back injury claims.
A workplace accident or repeated physical stress can cause back pain that interferes with your job, recovery, and daily life. Common work-related back injuries in Ohio workers’ comp cases include:
Your back supports almost every movement you make during the workday, so even a moderate injury can create major problems. Many workers with back injuries experience chronic pain, reduced mobility, missed time from work, and lasting limitations involving activities they once handled with ease.
Many back injuries arise when workers perform physically demanding tasks, work in unsafe conditions, or experience repeated strain over time. Some examples of workplace conditions and job duties that commonly lead to back injuries include:
A work-related back injury can affect your ability to earn a living for months, years, or even the rest of your career. Ohio’s workers’ compensation system provides several types of benefits that can help you treat your injury and continue paying the bills.
If your back injury keeps you from working entirely during your recovery, temporary total compensation can replace a portion of your lost wages. This benefit continues until your doctor clears you to return to work or determines that your condition has reached maximum medical improvement (MMI).
A back injury that leaves you with a lasting impairment but doesn’t prevent you from working entirely could entitle you to a permanent partial disability award. The amount you can get depends on the extent of your impairment and its effect on your ability to earn a living.
If a back injury permanently prevents you from holding any sustained employment, permanent total disability benefits could provide ongoing wage replacement, possibly for the rest of your life. These benefits are typically paid at the same weekly rate as temporary total compensation.
Ohio’s workers’ comp system covers all approved and necessary medical treatment for eligible job-related injuries, including emergency care and any ongoing treatment your condition requires. If your employer’s insurer refuses to authorize a recommended treatment or surgical procedure, an attorney can challenge that refusal on your behalf.
If you can only return to a lighter-duty or lower-paying position because of back injury restrictions, wage loss benefits can cover the difference between your prior and current earnings. The purpose of these benefits is to prevent you from having to absorb the financial loss of having to switch to a different job.
One key challenge in any back injury claim is visibility. As debilitating as back injuries can be, many of them have no outward signs that correspond to the level of pain and disability the worker experiences. Chronic back pain is inherently subjective, and insurers routinely use that subjectivity to question the severity of back injury claims. Insurers might demand independent medical examinations to produce opinions that minimize or contradict the findings of the worker’s treating physician. They may also monitor the injured worker’s daily activities and social media presence to look for any excuse, however flimsy, they can use to undermine the claim.
Another common challenge involves pre-existing conditions. Many workers who suffer serious back injuries on the job have some prior history of back problems. Insurers can and do use that kind of history to argue that the work injury didn’t cause the damage. What those insurers won’t volunteer is that Ohio law explicitly protects workers whose pre-existing conditions were aggravated by work injuries. A prior back condition doesn’t disqualify a worker from receiving workers’ comp benefits. However, it does require the worker’s attorney to build a careful, well-documented case that draws a clear line between what existed before and what the work injury caused or made worse.
Back injuries can end careers, and the workers’ comp awards available for back injury claims can be significant. However, it’s not always easy to pry those awards out of penny-pinching insurance companies. Doing so requires advocacy from a Columbus attorney who knows the system at its deepest level, and few lawyers in Ohio know it better than Philip J. Fulton.
Mr. Fulton himself penned Ohio Workers’ Compensation Law, which Ohio courts, the BWC, and other attorneys statewide treat as the authoritative guide to Ohio’s workers’ comp system. That’s the level of knowledge and authority that you’ll have behind your case when you choose our firm.
Our Columbus-based team has handled serious back injury claims throughout Ohio for over 40 years, from herniated disc cases to claims involving permanent total disability. Our lawyers know all the tactics insurers use to undervalue and deny these cases, and we also know how to push back. We charge no fees unless we secure the benefits you’re owed, so there’s zero risk to you when you trust us to take on your claim.
Don’t let a back injury cost you more than it already has. At Philip J. Fulton Law Office, our attorneys know Ohio’s workers’ comp system inside and out, and we put that knowledge to work for injured workers like you every day. Contact our law firm today to arrange a free initial consultation with a back injury claims lawyer in Columbus. There’s no fee unless we recover the benefits you’re due.
