New Prosthetics technology may help catastrophically injured workers return to the workforce

New Prosthetics technology may help catastrophically injured workers return to the workforce
by Lindy Z. Kerr, Esq.

For many employees who have sustained a work injury resulting in amputation, the loss of a limb permanently disables them from performing the only type of jobs they are trained to do. Yet, recent technological advances in medicine may mean that workers who are catastrophically injured because of an amputation will be able to return to work, even in manual labor positions.

Earlier this year a naval officer who lost all five fingers on his left hand was the one of 50 people in the world and the first person in the Southeast to receive a new technology called “Prodigits.” “Prodigits” uses a technology called myoelectrics, which sends signals from muscles to a computer that sends the signal impulse to the prosthetic extremity. The technology allows the prosthetic fingers to move naturally.

The technology is still very new, and still expensive. However, it is foreseeable that in the near future technological advances in prosthetics will allow otherwise catastrophically injured workers to regain function and return to work at a cost that is more manageable for employers and insurers.

If you have questions or comments, please contact your David & Rosetti attorney at 404-446-4488 or by visiting our website at www.davidandrosetti.com.