Jersey Finger

In my thirty-sixth year as a personal injury and workers’ compensation lawyer, I’m still encountering new injuries, different terminologies, and yet, unfortunately, the same frustrating attitudes of many insurance companies.

While it would be wonderful if every case was deemed legitimate at the outset, that is not what our adversarial system is designed to do. Sometimes, I owe my very career as an attorney to obstinance, disbelief, and arrogance. So I suppose I should thank at least some insurance adjusters and opposing attorneys for this.

Recently, I was able to resolve a work-related injury case that involved an injury I had not yet handled.

Something called “jersey finger.”

What Happened; What is It?

Jersey finger, for starters, is exactly what you would expect it to be. Imagine a football player attempting to tackle an opponent, and grabbing at him, getting a handful of jersey. While many people have very strong hands, our anatomy is not really designed to grab a 230 pound person running 25 miles per hour with a few fingers.

Which is what causes jersey finger. In clinical terms, it is an avulsion of the flexor digitorum profundus tendon (FDP) from its insertion into the distal phalanx (zone I). In layperson terms, it’s where the finger tendon ruptures and rips off the bone. There is no way to fix it without surgery.

My client was working security at a store. He followed a suspected shoplifter. When the suspect bolted, he went to apprehend him, grabbing him with his hand.

That caused his middle finger tendon to rupture off the bone, requiring surgery.

And my client is, as you might expect of a security guard, not frail and weak. He’s built like someone who might be suited for tackling 230-pound running backs.

However, his anatomy didn’t care how strong he is in the gym. His finger tore anyway.

What Workers’ Compensation Does, and Does Not Do

The good part is that he got the surgery and physical therapy he needed, paid for by workers’ compensation. Workers’ compensation also paid his time off from work, known as temporary total disability, or TTD, which is paid at a rate of two-thirds of his gross average weekly wage (AWW).

Eventually, once he was released from care by his doctor, he was released to return to work, and I was able to resolve his case. It was a fair settlement, as it was based upon his body part injured, the type of injury, the fact that he was released to return to work without any restrictions (only to injure another body part later), and his wage rate. As with all personal injury and workers’ compensation settlements, the settlement is free of any income taxes.

But. You knew there’d be a “however,” or a “but.”

My client, in his spare time, is a musician. He plays guitar. He works as a DJ.

His finger is still not back to normal for music. It may never be.

While workers’ compensation does compensate workers who are injured, it ONLY looks at their injury within the prism of how it affects their ability to perform their job.

The question from a workers’ compensation viewpoint was, “Can he go back to being a security officer?” And the doctor believed the answer was a yes. There was never any way to recover benefits for his possible permanent loss of his ability to play guitar professionally.

This is a hole or loophole in the workers’ compensation law. As part of the original “grand bargain” that created workers' compensation laws over a century ago, in exchange for employers being shielded from lawsuits, injured workers were given a no-fault system. This kept settlement and arbitration values down, shielded employers, but also ensured workers received compensation for their injuries without having to prove negligence.

But, unlike, say, auto crash cases, there are no “damages,” for pain and suffering, loss of a normal life, or lost wages.

So that jersey finger you sustain that affects your ability to play guitar, style people’s hair in your home as a side gig, or twirl a baton in your community parade, is not going to garner compensation for those things you can no longer do. The ONLY thing you will receive compensation for is the way it affects your ability to perform that job.

What is the law is not always what is happy, fair, or just. Sometimes, there just is no way to remedy damage a human body sustains. My job is to do the best I can for the client within the constraints of the legal system, flawed though it may be.

Takeaways

• Jersey finger injury is often caused by trying to prevent someone from running away by grabbing them by their clothing with only a few fingers, which can rupture a tendon
• Workers’ compensation compensates injured people for injuries that affect their ability to perform their jobs
• Workers’ compensation it does not pay for pain and suffering, loss of a normal life, or lost wages from a side gig
• You should consult a lawyer if you are injured while working to make sure you get the most workers’ compensation benefits possible.

Contact Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Stephen Hoffman

If you have been injured, whether by an auto accident, bike or pedestrian crash, dog bite, work accident, or medical malpractice, seek medical attention immediately. Report accidents to the police and your own insurance company, or to your employer if you were injured at work. Then contact a lawyer with experience in your type of injury matter.

If you have been in an accident and have questions, contact Chicago personal injury attorney Stephen L. Hoffman for a free consultation at (773) 944-9737. Stephen has over 35 years of legal experience and gets results; he has collected millions of dollars for his satisfied clients. He is listed as a SuperLawyer, has a 10.0 rating on Avvo, and is BBB A+ accredited. Stephen is also an Executive Level Member of the Lincoln Square Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce.

Stephen handles injury cases on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay nothing up front, and Stephen only gets paid if you do. You have only a limited time to file a claim, so don’t wait another day; contact Stephen now to get started putting your life back together.