Some injuries are obvious from the moment an accident takes place at your New Jersey job. A broken bone, head trauma or burn may send you or your co-worker to the emergency department immediately. At Parisi & Gerlanc, Attorneys At Law, we understand that not all workplace injuries are instantly visible at the moment of the incident, and some even develop slowly, making them difficult to identify. We often support workers who suffer soft tissue damage on the job.
HealthHype.com explains that a soft tissue injury can be the result of a trauma to one of your muscles, tendons and ligaments. This does not always occur at a single point in time, though. Overuse and repetitive stress are also hazards to your soft tissues. For example, tendonitis is an inflamed tendon, and that damage could progress gradually. Bursitis is a condition that often coincides with tendonitis, and it involves damage to the fluid pouches that prevent friction from the movement of muscles and tendons over the bones.
Strains affect your muscles and tendons, and these are rated by degrees. Sprains indicate harm to the ligaments, and they are similarly rated. A first-degree strain involves an overstretched muscle or tendon, second-degree includes a partial tear, and a complete tear of the muscle or tendon is a third-degree strain. A first-degree injury to ligament fibers is limited to just a few, while second-degree specifies a partial tear, and third degree describes a completely torn ligament.
More information about on-the-job injuries and employee rights is available on our web page.