Can Pain Alone Keep Me from Working? Understanding Pain in Alabama Workers Compensation and Social Security Disability Claims

Can Pain Alone Keep Me from Working? Understanding Pain in Alabama Workers Compensation and Social Security Disability Claims

Pain is one of the most common reasons people stop working, yet it is also one of the most misunderstood aspects of both Alabama Workers’ Compensation and Social Security Disability claims.

Almost every work injury hurts initially. A broken bone, torn rotator cuff, herniated disc, or traumatic brain injury is expected to be painful. Fortunately, many workers recover, complete their treatment, and return to their jobs.  For others, however, the pain never truly goes away.

Months—or even years—after the original injury, they continue to struggle with chronic pain that affects nearly every aspect of their lives. In some cases, the pain becomes more disabling than the original injury itself.  That naturally raises the question:

Can pain alone keep me from working?

The answer is: sometimes—but the law looks beyond the pain itself and focuses on how that pain affects your ability to function.

Recommended Reading:

• Chronic Pain
• Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS): When a Work Injury Leads to Chronic Pain
• Chronic Pain and Psychological Issues.

Pain Is Subjective—But Its Effects Are Very Real

One of the challenges in any legal claim involving pain is that pain cannot be measured the way a broken bone or torn ligament can.  An MRI may show a herniated disc. An X-ray may reveal arthritis. A nerve conduction study may confirm nerve damage. But no test can measure exactly how much pain another person experiences.

That is why both Alabama Workers’ Compensation law and Social Security Disability law focus less on the pain itself and more on what the pain prevents you from doing.

For example, chronic pain may interfere with your ability to:

• sit for extended periods;
• stand or walk;
• lift or carry objects;
• concentrate;
• sleep;
• drive safely;
• maintain attendance at work; or
• complete a normal workday without frequent breaks.

The issue is not whether you hurt.  The issue is whether your pain prevents you from performing work activities on a sustained basis.

Recommended Reading:

• What is Reasonably Gainful Employment.

How Postural Restrictions Affect Workers’ Compensation and Social Security Disability Claims

• Permanent Work Restrictions Mean in Workers’ Compensation and Social Security Disability Cases?

Pain Can Affect an Alabama Workers’ Compensation Claim

Pain is not simply a symptom; often, it becomes an important part of the legal analysis.

Consider a worker who suffers what initially appears to be a scheduled injury involving a hand, foot, or leg.

If that injury later produces:

• chronic nerve pain;
• Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS);
• severe altered gait;
• widespread pain affecting other body parts; or
• pain that interferes with the efficient functioning of the entire body,

the injury may no longer be viewed as merely affecting the scheduled member.

Likewise, severe pain often contributes to permanent work restrictions that prevent an injured worker from returning to their previous occupation.

That is why pain frequently becomes an important part of determining:

• vocational disability;
• loss of earning capacity;
• reasonably gainful employment; and
• in appropriate cases, permanent total disability.

Recommended Reading: Learn more about these issues:

• Can a Scheduled Injury Be Taken Outside the Schedule?
• What Happens If I Can’t Return to My Job After a Work Injury? 

What is reasonably gainful employment?

What is the Role of a Vocational Expert?

Pain Plays a Different Role in Social Security Disability Claims

Social Security does not award disability benefits simply because someone experiences chronic pain; instead, Social Security asks a different question: Does the pain, together with all of your medical conditions, prevent you from performing substantial gainful activity on a regular and continuing basis?

To answer that question, Social Security considers far more than a diagnosis.

It evaluates:

• your Residual Functional Capacity (RFC);
• your age;
• your education;
• your past relevant work;
• transferable job skills; and
• in many cases, the Medical-Vocational Guidelines (Grid Rules).

This explains why two people with similar medical conditions may receive different disability decisions.

Recommended Reading: To better understand how vocational factors affect disability claims, see:

• I Can’t Do My Old Job Anymore. Why Does Social Security Think I Can Do Another One? Transferability of Job Skills
• What are the Grid Rules?

Pain Medication Can Become Part of the Case

Sometimes the medication prescribed to control pain creates additional limitations, and it is important to remember that pain medication does not affect only the injured body part-it affects the entire person.

Common side effects include:

• drowsiness;
• slowed thinking;
• dizziness;
• impaired concentration;
• constipation;
• nausea;
• blurred vision; and
• delayed reaction time.

These side effects may affect a person’s ability to safely perform many jobs, particularly those involving driving, operating machinery, climbing, or making important decisions.

In workers’ compensation cases, medication side effects may also become part of the vocational analysis when determining whether an injured worker can realistically return to reasonably gainful employment.

Recommended Reading: We discuss medication side effects in greater detail here:

• Can the Side Effects of Medication Affect My Workers’ Compensation Claim?
• Can the Side Effects of My Prescribed Medication Help Prove My Social Security Disability Claim?

Make Sure Your Pain Is Documented

One of the biggest mistakes injured workers make is eventually stopping their complaints about pain.  After hearing “everything looks good” often enough, many simply quit mentioning their symptoms.

That can become a serious problem.

Medical records that repeatedly state “no complaints today” or “doing well” may later be used to argue that your pain resolved.  Continue telling your treating physician:

• where you hurt;
• how severe the pain is;
• what activities increase your pain;
• how the pain affects your sleep;
• how it affects your daily activities; and
• whether your medication is helping—or causing side effects.

Consistent medical documentation often becomes some of the strongest evidence in both workers’ compensation and Social Security Disability cases.

Recommended Reading: How Functional Capacity Evaluations (FCEs) Affect Workers’ Compensation Claims

Pain is one of the most common reasons people are unable to continue working, but pain alone rarely tells the entire story.  The important legal question is not simply “Does it hurt?”

It is “How does the pain affect your ability to function, perform your job, and sustain full-time employment?”

Understanding how chronic pain affects both Alabama Workers’ Compensation and Social Security Disability claims is one reason many seriously injured workers choose to work with a law firm experienced in handling both types of cases.

At Powell & Denny, we have represented injured and disabled workers throughout Alabama for more than 30 years. We understand how serious spine injuries can affect both workers’ compensation claims and Social Security Disability claims, so don’t hesitate to contact the experienced attorneys at Powell and Denny today a free consultation; remember. Virtual appointments are available through Zoom so you can meet with one of the attorneys of Powell and Denny from wherever you live, and remember-there is no fee unless you win.

Powell & Denny: We Work When You Can’t.

Offices in Huntsville, Alabama and Birmingham, AL