Workers’ compensation for tennis elbow provides some type of protection to employees who incur tennis elbow injuries in the course of employment. It provides payment to these injured employees as a form of wage replacement and medical benefits while they take time off to rest and recover from their injuries. At the same time, the employer is spared from negligence tort lawsuits.

Workers’ compensation works well if you are able to fully recover from your injury and are able to resume your work responsibilities. However, what happens when you lose some or all of your arm function and cannot return to your job responsibilities? What should you do to make sure you are protected from losing your livelihood?

You may want to consider filing for a workers’ compensation settlement for tennis elbow. When you sustain a tennis elbow injury in the workplace, be sure to see a doctor right away, even if the injury doesn’t appear to be serious. Do not try to self-medicate. Report your injury immediately to your employer and file an occupational injury report. If your injury is repetitive, or if your prognosis is poor and your doctor expects you to be off work for an extended period of time because your tennis elbow injury is severe, you should identify a specific date when the injury first occurred.

Generally, you will be required to file your first report within about two weeks, depending on the law where you live. After claiming workers’ compensation, and if it is proven that his tennis elbow injury negatively affects his job performance because he is unable to regain full use of his arm, you may want to consider seeking a settlement.

You have three years from the date you file your first report to file a lawsuit. You can file a claim on your own with the workers’ compensation board. However, it is better to do it through a lawyer. You will need to include documentation from your doctor that your tennis elbow injury occurred at work, along with the specific date the injury was first sustained.

How much settlement can you claim? Generally, an arm is worth approximately 253 weeks. You’ll likely ask your doctor to assign a disability rating to your arm based on your most recent visit, when he or she says you no longer need treatment. The impairment rating will be used to calculate the monetary amount based on the qualifying percentage of the 253 weeks and your weekly compensation rate.

How your doctor determines your disability rating also depends on the nature of your employment. If you are in sales, your qualification is likely to be less critical compared to that of a repairman.