Jeff Swaney founded the Swaney Law Firm in 1984. Jeff obtained his law degree from the School of Law at St. Louis University, as well as a Master of Arts in Public Administration. He is a member of the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys (MATA) and The Missouri Bar Association. Jeff is also licensed and handles cases in the State of Illinois.
I have been totally surprised by the misinformation which has been spread after the passage of the new tort reform law. Since the law was passed by Missouri lawmakers in 2005, I have had numerous calls from injured workers who have been told that "work comp" doesn't pay on carpal tunnel cases anymore. This simply isn't true! There have been changes in the law and the bar has been raised, but carpal tunnel and other repetitive motion claims are still alive and well, despite what you may have heard. At one time, the law was more lax and a case was compensable if work simply "triggered" an injury .The bar was then raised so that a worker had to prove that work was a "substantial factor" in producing an injury. The standard now is that the injured worker must show that work was "the prevailing" or the "dominant factor" in producing an injury. While this is a more difficult standard, it is an exaggeration, or a misrepresentation, for your employer or an insurance adjuster to tell you that "workman's comp" doesn't provide compensation for "repetitive trauma injuries" anymore. This is also true of other repetitive trauma claims like "epicondylitis" (tennis elbow), "De Quervains Syndrome", "tendonitis", "ulnar nerve entrapment", "cubital tunnel" ,"rotator cuff " injuries, "shoulder impingement" syndrome "reflex sympathetic dystrophy", "herniated disc" injuries and a host of other others. In conclusion, please spread the word that to your fellow workers so that they are not mislead. When in doubt, contact an experienced Missouri "work comp lawyer".
The contents of this article are intended for educational use only in order to provide readers general information and a basic understanding of the law. If you are seeking legal advice, please consult a licensed professional attorney in your state. The information in this article should not be substituted for experienced legal advice.
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