Highway maintenance is physically demanding in ways that are easy to overlook until the aches stop going away. Years of shoveling asphalt, operating jackhammers, lifting barricades, clearing debris, climbing in and out of heavy equipment, and working long shifts can gradually wear down nearly every part of the body. If you are wondering whether a workers’ comp repetitive motion injury claim applies when there was no single accident, the answer in New Jersey may be yes. State workers’ compensation law recognizes many cumulative injuries also referred to as wear and tear injuries, when the job materially contributes to the condition.
For highway maintenance workers, understanding the difference between normal soreness and a compensable injury is critical. Just because the damage developed over the years does not mean you have to shoulder the cost alone.
Highway Maintenance Takes a Cumulative Toll
Unlike a fall from a ladder or a machinery accident, injuries from highway maintenance work often develop slowly. Every shift places stress on muscles, joints, tendons, and nerves. Eventually, that stress may become permanent.
Common job duties that contribute to long-term injuries include:
- Lifting heavy signs, cones, guardrails, and equipment;
- Repetitive shoveling and raking of asphalt or gravel;
- Operating vibrating tools such as jackhammers and pavement breakers;
- Climbing on and off trucks and heavy machinery;
- Kneeling, squatting, and bending for extended periods; and
- Working on uneven pavement and steep roadside embankments.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recognizes that repetitive motions, forceful exertions, awkward postures, and vibration are significant risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders in physically demanding occupations.
These physical demands add up over months and years. National data shows that overexertion and repetitive motion remain among the leading causes of serious workplace injuries requiring time away from work. The National Safety Council reports they account for approximately 32% of all DART (Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred) cases, underscoring that gradual, work-related injuries are both common and significant.
When Does Wear and Tear Become a Workers’ Comp Repetitive Motion Injury?
Many workers assume workers’ compensation only covers sudden accidents. In New Jersey, that is not the case. The state’s Workers’ Compensation Act allows benefits for occupational diseases and conditions that arise to a material degree from the particular work performed. That includes orthopedic and neurological conditions caused or aggravated by repetitive job duties, not simply one-time traumatic events.
If years of highway maintenance work significantly contributed to your condition, you may have grounds for a claim even if you cannot identify one specific day you were hurt.
Common Cumulative Trauma or Wear and Tear Workers’ Comp Claim Injuries Highway Workers Experience
Repeated physical demands often affect the same areas of the body. Highway maintenance workers frequently develop:
- Degenerative shoulder injuries,
- Rotator cuff tears,
- Chronic back and neck pain,
- Herniated discs,
- Knee damage from repeated kneeling,
- Hip degeneration,
- Carpal tunnel syndrome,
- Tendonitis in the wrists and elbows, and
- Nerve compression from vibrating equipment.
These conditions rarely appear overnight. Many workers simply adapt to increasing pain until they can no longer perform their jobs.
An Occupational Injury or Wear and Tear Lawyer That Understands What This Work Really Does
Highway maintenance is not ordinary labor. It combines heavy lifting, repetitive movement, exposure to vibration, awkward body positioning, and long careers spent working outdoors in difficult conditions.
At Petro Cohen, P.C., we understand that many of the most serious workplace injuries develop one shift at a time. Our attorneys have represented New Jersey workers whose careers left them with chronic orthopedic conditions, repetitive stress injuries, and permanent disabilities caused by years of demanding physical work. As the firm’s workers’ compensation attorneys explain, New Jersey workers may recover benefits when the wear and tear of their jobs materially contributes to a disabling condition, not just after a single accident.
Whether your injury involves your back, shoulders, knees, wrists, or multiple body parts, Petro Cohen, P.C. can help build the medical evidence needed to demonstrate how the long-term demands of highway maintenance contributed to the condition and support your claim for benefits under New Jersey’s workers’ compensation system.
Legal References Used to Inform This Page
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