Grinberg: Exoskeletons: The Bane of CTs

Monday, May 21, 2018 | 0

I previously wrote a bit about exoskeletons, those robots you practically wear on the outside of your body that help take the load off for heavy or repetitive tasks.

Gregory Grinberg

Well, now I’m going to write about it again. Why? Because these things are nothing short of miraculous.

Esko Bionics is bringing its exoskeletons to Ford’s Michigan factory workers. A lot of the injuries we see now, especially the cumulative trauma claims, might take their place on the shelf of history next to the dinosaurs. Why?

The physical strain on the human body done by much of this work, such as having to hold up heavy tools for two- or three-hour stretches at a time, could be transferred to the exoskeletons.

According to this video, the exoskeleton provides 5 to 15 pounds of lifting assistance per arm for chest-level lifting and above.

How will this apply in workers’ comp?

If a treating physician provides work restrictions of limiting shoulder-and-above work to 15 pounds or lighter, does wearing the vest increase the restrictions to 30 pounds?

If a qualified medical examiner opines about industrial causation to a cumulative trauma but has not considered how such an exoskeleton works or what impact it has in applicant’s usual and customary duties, can the QME opinion still be considered substantial medical evidence?

Now, think about the flip side of this: If exoskeletons become the norm, or the growing trend, does failure to provide them constitute serious and willful misconduct? Should such exoskeletons be considered basic safety equipment?

To some extent, the history of labor came with the notion that one will wear out his or her body over a lifetime of work. It’s only natural — our bodies degrade due to our labors over the span of our lives, and our hope is that we greet retirement with only minimal pains and aches from a lifetime of toil.

What if that’s no longer going to be the case?

Call me charmingly naïve, dashingly handsome and hopelessly optimistic (come on, do it!), I am expecting good things are coming our way real soon.

Gregory Grinberg is workers' compensation defense attorney at the Law Office of Gregory Grinberg, based in the San Francisco Bay Area. This post is reprinted with permission from Grinberg's WCDefenseCA blog.