Drug Dealers Complain of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

According to a recent news feature from The LAist, police have intercepted drug dealers complaining of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) as a result of counting so many $1 bills.  While at first this may seem like a joke, when police busted this particular group of alleged drug dealers, they were found with over $600,000, all in singles.

While the police said they are familiar with finding small bills in the homes or offices of city drug dealers, they had never seen so many $1 bills.   They said there enough singles that even when they were banded in neat stacks, could fill the entire bed of a standard pickup truck.  When the police went to count the evidence, it took them three days, so they could actually understand why it could cause carpal tunnel syndrome. 

Clearly, nobody is feeling much sympathy for drug dealers getting carpal tunnel syndrome from counting hundreds of thousands of dollars. But, as the article notes, there are many working in entirely legal and ethical jobs that are likely to suffer from CTS due to repetitive tasks required by the demands of their respective jobs.  One recent study found that that jobs with the highest rates of carpal tunnel syndrome are people who type frequently, musicians, people in the meat packing industry, people in the aviation manufacture and repair industry.

While drug dealers who get carpal tunnel syndrome are not entitled to workers’ compensation, workers who work in legal jobs that get CTS are likely entitled to workers’ compensation.  While people do not always think of carpal tunnel syndrome as an on-the-job injury or illness, that is what it typically is, and you should be able to receive workers’ compensation benefits if you suffer from this condition.

However, every case is different, and you should speak with a Boston workers’ compensation attorney to see if you have a valid claim. It should be noted that your employer, or more likely his or her insurance company, may attempt to deny a claim, even thought it is valid, because insurance companies are often far more interested in making profits for shareholders and company executives than they are about whether an injured worker gets the compensation to which he or she is rightfully entitled.

The important thing is to make sure you report the pain or diagnosis to your employer as soon as possible, since there are reporting timeline requirements for you to qualify for benefits. Failing to timely report an on-the-job injury or illness may prevent you from qualifying for benefits. It is also important to make sure that your supervisor or employer generates an accident report, so that there is a record of what happened and when.

With respect to the drug dealers arrested with so many one dollar bills, researchers and social workers are concerned that the sheer number of small bills means that so many of the city’s poorest residents are the ones most hurt by the drug sales, and this is another reason that they are trying to stop the drug dealing by whatever reasonable means necessary.

If you or someone you love has been injured a Boston work accident, call for a free and confidential appointment at (617) 777-7777.

Additional Resources:

Skid Row Dealers Apparently Getting Carpal Tunnel From Counting All Those Ones, May 18, 2016, LAist, By Julia Wick

More Blog Entries:

Opioid Use in Boston Workers’ Compensation Cases Posing Serious Health Threat, April 10, 2016, Boston Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Blog