Are you struggling with daily tasks after injuring your hand on the job? Whether you're a construction worker who can't grip tools properly anymore because of a finger injury or an office professional dealing with chronic wrist pain, a hand injury severely impacts your ability to earn a living. At Monast Law Office, we know how challenging this situation is, and we're here to help you pursue appropriate compensation for your work-related hand injury.
Types of Work-Related Hand Injuries and Their Impact on Settlement Values
Each hand has 27 bones, 27 joints, 34 muscles, over 100 ligaments and tendons, numerous blood vessels, nerves, and soft tissue. This complex anatomy means even seemingly minor injuries can significantly impact your ability to work. A fair settlement should reflect the type of injury and how it affects your job duties and future employment options.
Acute Traumatic Injuries
These incidents happen suddenly, like when fingers or wrists break in an accident. These injuries often require surgery and lengthy rehabilitation. Suppose healing is complicated or multiple bones are affected. In that case, you may face permanent limitations that affect your ability to work—the more extensive the damage and recovery time, the higher the potential settlement value.
Crush Injuries
Crush injuries commonly occur in manufacturing and construction when hands get caught in machinery or compressed between heavy objects. This happened to one of our clients, Tim, and the accident nearly took his arm, too. These injuries often damage multiple parts of the hand at once: bones, tendons, nerves, and blood vessels. Numerous surgeries and specialized therapy are usually needed. Since crush injuries frequently lead to permanent impairment, they typically result in higher settlements.
Nerve Damage
Hand and finger injury accidents that result in nerve issues present unique challenges because they affect both sensation and movement. Whether from a sudden accident or gradual compression, nerve injuries can cause numbness, tingling, and loss of fine motor control. Some workers experience ongoing pain that makes it impossible to handle tools or materials. Since these symptoms often persist long-term, settlements must account for permanent workplace limitations.
Repetitive Stress Injuries
When your job requires you to perform the same motions repeatedly, this may potentially result in permanent damage to soft tissues and nerve compression. Typical repetitive stress injuries include trigger fingers from using specific tools day in and day out or carpal tunnel syndrome, common among many office workers and assembly line operators. While these injuries may seem less severe than sudden trauma, they can end careers if not adequately treated. Settlements must consider both current symptoms and the likelihood of future problems.
Factors That Determine the Average Workers’ Comp Hand Injury Settlement Amount
Unfortunately, we can’t give you an absolute dollar figure because settlement values differ significantly between cases. This is why having experienced legal representation matters. At Monast Law Office, it’s our responsibility to build a case that ensures your workers’ compensation properly accounts for all aspects of your injury's impact. Elements we consider include, but aren’t limited to:
- Injury severity. Temporary conditions that heal completely typically result in lower settlements than those causing permanent limitations or disability. Complete loss of function receives higher compensation than partial loss.
- Type of work. Your specific occupation affects settlement value. Jobs requiring fine motor skills—such as surgeons, mechanics, musicians—or manual labor—including construction and manufacturing professionals—typically see higher settlements for hand injuries than office roles with less hand-intensive duties.
- Age and experience. Highly skilled workers may receive more if the injury prevents them from using specialized training.
- Medical documentation. Substantial medical evidence from specialists showing a clear connection between work activities and injury leads to better settlements.
- Future medical needs. Ongoing requirements such as physical therapy, surgeries, or pain management increase settlement value, as does the need for adaptive equipment.
- Earning capacity impact. Settlements consider the difference between pre-injury wages and what you might earn with limitations. More significant wage loss typically means higher settlements.
- Recovery participation. Following treatment plans, attempting modified duty when appropriate, and honestly reporting symptoms help prove the legitimacy of the injury.
- Claim timing. Prompt injury reporting and immediate medical care strengthen claims. Gaps in treatment are a red flag, as causation becomes more challenging to prove.
- Preexisting conditions. Previous hand injuries or conditions may affect settlement value, especially if they contributed to your current limitations. Full disclosure helps avoid settlement disputes.
It’s important to remember that the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation doesn’t use a set formula for calculating hand injury compensation. Instead, the agency examines potential claim benefits against what expenses might be incurred—as mentioned above, injury severity matters. So, suppose your work-related hand injury requires surgery a year from now, and you won’t be able to work for 10 weeks afterward. In that case, you may receive more compensation than someone who’s less likely to need surgery to reach maximum medical improvement.
Need to know more about attaining workers’ compensation for hand and finger injuries? Here’s how we can help you.
