Can the Side Effects of My Medication Affect My Alabama Workers Compensation Claim?

Can the Side Effects of My Medication Affect My Alabama Workers Compensation Claim?

When most people think about a workers’ compensation case, they focus on the injury itself.

A torn rotator cuff.

A herniated disc.

A crushed hand.

A serious knee injury.

But experienced workers’ compensation attorneys know that sometimes the treatment becomes almost as important as the injury.

Many injured workers reach a point where they need prescription medication—not because it cures their injury, but because it allows them to function despite ongoing pain.  Unfortunately, those same medications often produce side effects that affect far more than the injured body part.  Those side effects can become important evidence in both an Alabama Workers’ Compensation claim and, in many cases, a Social Security Disability claim.

Pain Medication Doesn’t Stay in Your Shoulder, Knee, or Back

This may sound obvious, but it is an important legal concept.

Pain medication prescribed for:

• a shoulder injury;
• a knee injury;
• a back injury;
• chronic pain; or
• nerve damage

does not work only in the injured body part.  Instead, it affects the entire body.

Depending upon the medication and the individual taking it, common side effects may include:

• drowsiness;
• slowed reaction time;
• dizziness;
• nausea;
• constipation or diarrhea;
• difficulty concentrating;
• memory problems;
• blurred vision;
• fatigue;
• impaired balance; or
• reduced coordination.

These are not simply inconveniences.  For many workers, they directly affect whether it is safe—or even possible—to return to work.

Sometimes It Becomes “Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t”

Over more than three decades of representing injured workers, we have seen the same frustrating situation countless times.

Without medication…

the worker cannot function because of severe pain.

With medication…

the worker becomes too drowsy, dizzy, nauseated, or mentally slowed to safely perform their job.

Construction workers cannot safely climb ladders.  Truck drivers cannot safely operate commercial vehicles.  Nurses cannot safely administer medication.  Machinists cannot safely operate dangerous equipment.  Factory workers cannot safely keep up with production lines.

It becomes a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation.

The goal of treatment is to improve function—but sometimes the treatment itself creates new functional limitations.

Medication Side Effects Can Affect Permanent Work Restrictions

When physicians assign permanent work restrictions, they are not always responding solely to the injury itself.  Sometimes the restrictions are necessary because of the medication required to treat the injury.

For example, a physician may prohibit an injured worker from:

• operating heavy machinery;
• driving commercial vehicles;
• working around dangerous equipment;
• climbing ladders;
• working at unprotected heights;
• making safety-sensitive decisions; or
• returning to jobs requiring constant alertness.

Those restrictions may arise because the medication creates safety concerns—not because the injured shoulder, knee, or back physically prevents the activity.

Recommended Reading: What Do Permanent Work Restrictions Mean in Workers’ Compensation and Social Security Disability Cases?

Medication Side Effects Can Affect Scheduled Injuries

This issue can become especially important in Alabama workers’ compensation cases involving scheduled injuries.  Ordinarily, injuries involving the:

• hand/ wrist/arm, or;
• foot or leg

are compensated under Alabama’s statutory schedule; however, Alabama courts have recognized situations in which the effects of an injury extend beyond the scheduled member itself.

Medication may become part of that analysis.  For example:

Imagine a worker suffers a serious hand injury.  The injury itself is limited to the hand, but the worker develops chronic nerve pain requiring strong prescription medication.

The medication causes:

• significant drowsiness;
• impaired concentration;
• dizziness;
• balance problems; and
• slowed reaction time.

Those side effects affect far more than the worker’s hand.  They affect the worker’s ability to function as a whole.

While every case depends upon its own facts and the applicable law, situations like this illustrate why workers’ compensation cases often involve much more than simply identifying the injured body part.

Recommended Reading: Can a Scheduled Injury Become a Whole-Body Injury Under Alabama Workers’ Compensation Law?

Chronic Pain Often Leads to Long-Term Medication

Workers suffering from:

• failed back surgery;
• CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome);
• severe nerve injuries;
• multiple orthopedic injuries; or
• chronic pain

may require medication for years.  These cases frequently involve ongoing palliative care designed to manage symptoms rather than cure the underlying condition.

As treatment continues, physicians often must balance two competing goals: reducing pain while minimizing medication side effects.

Sometimes finding that balance is extremely difficult.

Recommended Reading: What Is Palliative Care in an Alabama Workers’ Compensation Case?   Chronic Pain and related Psychological Issues.

Why You Should Tell Your Doctor About Side Effects

One of the biggest mistakes we see is this: The worker tells family members how miserable the medication makes them…

but never tells the treating physician.

That creates two problems.  First, your physician may be able to adjust:

• the dosage;
• the timing;
• or even prescribe a different medication with fewer side effects.

Second—and equally important—if the side effects are never reported, they generally will not appear in your medical records.

Later, when your ability to work becomes an issue, there may be little documentation showing how the medication affected you.

Workers’ Compensation Looks at Function

Many people believe workers’ compensation focuses only on the medical diagnosis, and at first it may, but as a claim progresses, attention increasingly shifts toward function.

Can the worker safely:

• lift?
• stand?
• walk?
• climb?
• kneel?
• grip?
• drive?
• maintain attention?
• safely perform their former occupation?

Medication side effects may affect every one of those questions.

Recommended Reading: How do Postural Limitations Affect claim?

Social Security Also Considers Medication Side Effects

If a work injury eventually results in a Social Security Disability claim, medication side effects often become even more important.  Social Security evaluates a person’s ability to sustain competitive employment on a regular and continuing basis.

The Administration considers limitations involving:

• concentration;
• persistence;
• pace;
• balance;
• reaction time;
• fatigue;
• memory;
• and the ability to perform work safely.

Sometimes the medication prescribed to treat the work injury becomes nearly as significant as the injury itself.

Recommended Reading: Can the Side Effects of My Prescribed Medication Help Prove My Social Security Disability Claim?

Functional Capacity Evaluations Don’t Measure Everything

Many injured workers undergo a Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE).  An FCE may accurately measure:

• lifting ability;
• grip strength;
• endurance;
• standing tolerance; and
• range of motion.

What it often cannot fully measure is how a worker feels after taking medication every day for months or years.  That is why physicians’ records, medication histories, and consistent reporting of side effects remain so important.

Recommended Reading: What Is a Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE)?

A workers’ compensation claim is about far more than an X-ray, MRI, or surgical report.

It is about how a work injury affects your ability to earn a living.

Sometimes that loss of function comes directly from the injury.

Sometimes it comes from chronic pain.

And sometimes it comes from the very medications required to make the pain tolerable.

At Powell & Denny, we have represented injured Alabama workers for more than 30 years. We understand that serious work injuries often involve more than damaged bones, muscles, or nerves. They may also involve permanent work restrictions, chronic pain, ongoing medical treatment, and medication side effects that affect the worker as a whole. Understanding how all of those pieces fit together is essential when evaluating both an Alabama Workers’ Compensation claim and a potential Social Security Disability case.

If you have questions about an Alabama Workers’ Compensation claim, or a claim for Social Security Disability benefits, don’t 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