Work Accidents and Thoracic Spine Injuries

None of us leave for work with the expectation that we will suffer an avoidable and serious work injury. Yet various kinds of workplace accidents occur with regularity, and these accidents can lead to severe harm. Back injuries are among the most common types of workplace injury resulting in missed workdays for employees in a range of professions, from manual labor and construction work to retail jobs and hospital work. Thoracic spine injuries are not the most commonly reported type of workplace back injury, but they can occur in certain accidents and overuse circumstances, and they can be debilitating.

What should you know about thoracic spine injuries caused by workplace accidents or certain work duties? Our Maryland workplace injury lawyers can provide you with the information you need.

What is a Thoracic Spine Injury? 

What is a thoracic spine injury? First, you need to understand what the thoracic spine is and where it is located. According to the Cleveland Clinic, the thoracic spine is the “middle section of your spine” that “starts at the base of your neck and ends at the bottom of your ribs.” In total, it is made up of 12 vertebrae. It is the strongest area of your spine and thus is the least common area for a spine injury to occur. However, when spine injuries do occur along the thoracic spine, they tend to be severe and debilitating.

How Do Thoracic Spine Injuries Occur on the Job?

Most thoracic spine injuries that occur in workplaces result from falls from heights, according to data reported by the National Center for Biotechnology Information. Nearly 20 percent of all work injuries each year are spine injuries of some type, and more than 20 percent of those are serious enough to require spinal surgery.

Falls from heights, including falls from roofs, falls from ladders, falls from scaffolding, and falls from heavy machinery are the most common causes of catastrophic thoracic spine injuries. A majority of these accidents occur in construction work, but they can also happen in other workplaces where falls are common, such as warehousing and hospital work.

Contact a Maryland Workers’ Compensation Lawyer for Assistance with your Work Injury Case

Any type of back injury caused by a workplace accident can be devastating. Even if you are able to recover, you may require many weeks or months away from work to receive medical care and rehabilitation, at which time you will likely be unable to earn any wages. In the worst back injury cases, a worker’s injury is permanently disabling and severely limits what types of jobs the worker can do in the future or prevents the worker from engaging in a wage-earning role altogether. No matter what the expectation is for your thoracic spine injury, if your injury arose out of and occurred in the course of your employment, you may be eligible for compensation.

Workers’ compensation for thoracic spine injuries can include a percentage of your lost wages, covered medical care, and disability benefits in some circumstances. One of the experienced Maryland workers’ compensation lawyers at the Law Offices of Steinhardt, Siskind and Lieberman, LLC can begin working with you on your claim today. Contact our firm to get started.

Sources:

my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/22460-thoracic-spine

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37606797/