Rotator Cuff Injury at Work in Pennsylvania: Wear and Tear Is Not a Defense

The degenerative tear argument

Rotator cuff tears are common in people who have never been injured, and insurers know it. The report will say the tear shows chronic changes, therefore it predates the work.

Two answers. First, a tear that was silent for years and became disabling because of your job is an aggravation, which Pennsylvania compensates. Second, chronic appearance on imaging does not establish when the shoulder stopped working, which is the question that matters for wage loss.

Who gets these

Warehouse pickers and stockers reaching above shoulder height all shift. Trades working overhead. Healthcare aides transferring patients. Drivers repeatedly pulling roll doors. Line workers with fixed reach patterns.

If your job involves working above shoulder height regularly, say so explicitly to your doctor, because it is rarely in the chart otherwise.

Specific loss is often available

A shoulder that never regains function may support a specific loss claim for permanent loss of use, separate from wage loss and payable whether or not you returned to work. This is regularly missed on shoulder claims because people assume the claim ends when they go back.

Surgery, and the timing of offers

Arthroscopic repair has a long recovery, often several months of restricted use and physical therapy. Offers frequently arrive just before authorisation, and settling then transfers the cost of that surgery and recovery to you.