You have avoided using the arm for days after hurting your shoulder at work, keeping it still by your side.
But now the shoulder feels stuck — like it is frozen.
Frozen shoulder, officially known as adhesive capsulitis, is a medical condition that may develop when you suffer a work-related shoulder injury like a rotator cuff tear or torn biceps tendon. Even hand and wrist injuries that cause you to guard the arm can cause this condition.
A risk anytime you must immobilize the arm after injury, a frozen shoulder frequently develops in injured employees who receive initial claim denials from the insurance company or experience delays in medical treatment authorizations. Waiting for approval for doctor appointments, surgery, or physical therapy increases the likelihood of developing adhesive capsulitis.
This article discusses workers compensation benefits and lump sum settlements for injured employees with a frozen shoulder. After reading the article, you will know what evidence to use to build your case and what factors to consider so you can negotiate a higher frozen shoulder settlement.
If you have questions, call (804) 251-1620 or (757) 810-5614 to speak with one of Virginia’s best work injury lawyers. Or complete this contact form and we will reach out to you.
A frozen shoulder refers to stiffness and limitations in arm use that develop gradually over weeks, months, or even years.
Typically, these restrictions on active and passive shoulder movement stem from inflammation of the shoulder joint, which causes scarring of the glenohumeral joint. Eventually, the joint capsule shrinks from this chronic inflammation, restricting arm movement.
Doctors divide frozen shoulder into two classes: primary and secondary adhesive capsulitis.
Patients with primary adhesive capsulitis cannot remember trauma to the shoulder or a potential cause of their problems.
In contrast, many injured workers suffer secondary adhesive capsulitis, meaning you remember an event or cause before your symptoms began. For example, rotator cuff tears, posttraumatic arthritis, broken clavicles (collarbone), arm and wrist fractures, sling wearing, or shoulder surgery immobilizing the arm for an extended period may lead to a frozen shoulder.
Common symptoms of adhesive capsulitis include:
You have a greater risk of developing a work-related frozen shoulder if one or more of these factors apply to you:
Bottom line: If you want to avoid a frozen shoulder after a work injury, do not hold your arm still unless the orthopedic surgeon tells you to.
Frozen shoulder usually has three stages:
During the first stage of adhesive capsulitis, shoulder pain worsens until it restricts your range of motion.
In my experience, injured workers spend one to ten months in this first phase.
In stage two of adhesive capsulitis, you have been diagnosed with a frozen shoulder and begin to receive treatment for it. This treatment reduces pain, but you continue to have a decreased range of motion that makes working difficult.
This stage lasts from three to twelve months.
You start to heal and regain shoulder motion during this recovery phase.
This stage lasts from a few months to two years or more.
Usually your workers compensation doctor can diagnose adhesive capsulitis based on your patient history (i.e., knowing you suffered trauma at work or had surgery that immobilized the arm) and clinical examination (including responses to physical tests). Diagnostic tests are unnecessary.
That said, you will likely receive prescriptions for X-rays or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to confirm the diagnosis or rule out other causes of shoulder and neck pain.
Your doctor may try several treatment methods to heal a frozen shoulder.
Standard medical care includes the following:
Probably.
The compensable consequence doctrine requires insurers and claim administrators (companies like Sedgwick, Gallagher Bassett, or PMA) to pay for medical treatment for any condition that naturally flows from a compensable injury by accident.
Therefore, you can receive treatment under your lifetime medical award if you have an Award Letter showing a covered accident and your doctor writes a letter explaining the causation between that accident and a frozen shoulder.
Many employees recover from adhesive capsulitis.
But even those who return to their pre-injury state may have significant limitations in arm and shoulder activities before reaching maximum medical improvement (MMI). For example, your doctor may limit how much you can lift and carry or how often you reach overhead. These restrictions may prevent you from returning to your pre-injury job.
You can claim wage loss benefits if your doctor gives medical work restrictions due to a frozen shoulder. For example, the insurer may have to pay temporary total disability (TTD) if you are out of work or unable to find a job that accommodates restrictions from adhesive capsulitis. Or, if you find a job within your frozen shoulder restrictions that pays less, the insurer may owe temporary partial disability (TPD) benefits.
In my experience, you will likely have work restrictions for one to three years, even if you recover from a frozen shoulder completely.
Some of you may never fully recover from adhesive capsulitis. Indeed, roughly half of the injured employees I represent with adhesive capsulitis will have permanent impairment of the upper extremity and will receive permanent restrictions after a functional capacity evaluation (FCE).
Make sure you pursue a claim for permanent partial disability benefits if you fall into this category and receive an impairment rating.
Few workers compensation cases involve only a frozen shoulder.
Instead, you likely suffered trauma to another part of the shoulder.
Therefore, I recommend evaluating a fair workers compensation settlement for a frozen shoulder using the same factors as deciding the average amount for any work-related shoulder injury.
But with this modifier.
You should seek the high end of the settlement range for a frozen shoulder because this diagnosis increases the likelihood of days away from work and permanent impairment, critical factors in deciding a case’s fair value.
A frozen shoulder injury causes continued pain and limits your ability to use the arm at work or home. This incapacity strips you of your independence and mobility.
We cannot undo the past.
But our lawyers can help you get the workers compensation benefits and frozen shoulder settlement you deserve to have the best quality of life possible.
If you have been diagnosed with adhesive capsulitis after an occupational injury, call us today (804-251-1620 or 757-810-5614).