What is Complex Regional Pain Syndrome?

Working in a field environment such as construction can lead to a variety of traumatic injuries. You can be struck by a falling object; run over by a vehicle; fall from scaffolding; have a limb mangled by a piece of equipment or machinery; be exposed to hazardous substances, and more. Many times your injuries can be seemingly straightforward to diagnose and to treat. But what if you experience symptoms that do not readily lend themselves to easy identification?

One such condition is known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, or CRPS. And if you are not familiar with it, you are in good company: many doctors as well as workers’  compensation insurers are unfamiliar with it, too. But it is a real condition, and one to be taken seriously.

You may experience CRPS after an injury that resulted from a part of your body undergoing high-pressure or crushing injuries, although the full range of its causes is not known with complete certainty. Symptoms can take the form of an uneven recovery: in some ways you feel that you are getting better, yet at the same time in other ways you feel like your condition is becoming worse. This inconsistency can confuse doctors who do not know how to properly diagnose CRPS, and can also confound insurers about the true nature and even the sincerity of your workers’ compensation claim.

We at Ayers Whitlow and Dressler are not only experienced and familiar with North Carolina workers’ compensation law in general, we also know how to work with qualified doctors to determine if you may be suffering from CRPS. We use our knowledge and experience to help employers and their insurers alike understand that what you are going through — the painful sensations, the swelling and skin discoloration, the muscle spasms — are not psychosomatic in nature, but have a real physical cause that is compensable under workers’ compensation if the underlying injury happened in your work environment.

To learn more about how we work with CRPS-related claims, and workers’ compensation generally, or to help you with initiating or forwarding an existing benefits claim, call us or contact a Charlotte work comp attorney through our website for answers and to set up an initial no-cost consultation.