What is a Continuing Trauma (CT) workers' compensation claim?
It is very small injuries occurring from repetitive actions over a period of time.
Huh? An example better illustrates what a CT is.
Think of a CT as not unlike the pistons in a car engine. Cars are machines and every time you drive the car the pistons are being slightly damaged and wearing down due to the repetitive nature and tasks of how pistons work in a car engine. No matter how well you maintain the car (regular oil changes, filter changes, tire rotations) the pistons are wearing done whenever the car is driven. As the miles the car drives racks up, so does the repetitive small damages to the pistons. Overtime, maybe a year, maybe a decade or more, the pistons will break down. When the day arrives, the car owner has to make a decision. Fix the pistons or scrap the car and buy a newer car - with the all new shiny bells and whistles the old car does not have. Most people opt for the newer car and scrap the old one.
CTs are most common in jobs requiring repetitive actions such as key boarding (carpal tunnel syndrome), heavy lifting as in heavy construction jobs (low back), kneeling as in exterminator and television/internet/phone installation jobs (knees), etc.
As any biologist will tell you, humans are biological machines. But as biological machines, they are not inanimate objects like a car, they are living breathing beings with emotions and families.
As a society we need to decide if we are going to throw these damaged human machines on the scrap heap with the old used up cars and buy the new shiner human machines, or do we fix these human machines?
Currently California laws state that we fix these employees who have served their employers so willingly and productively through the years. In the future, who knows, as legislative change is afoot in Sacramento. Lets hope the California Legislature does not decide to throw these employees on the scrap heap with the used up cars.