Pennsylvania CRPS & RSD Lawyer for Work Injuries

If you developed Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) — sometimes called RSD (Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy) or informally "chronic regional pain syndrome" — after an injury on the job, you are facing one of the most painful and misunderstood conditions in workers' compensation. CRPS can turn a broken wrist or a crushed foot into a lifelong, disabling pain condition. Insurers know how expensive these claims are, which is exactly why they fight them so hard.

Attorney Michael Cardamone is a Certified Workers' Compensation Specialist who has handled hundreds of CRPS and RSD cases over 27 years, for injured workers throughout Philadelphia and across Pennsylvania. If you are searching for a "CRPS lawyer" or "RSD lawyer" near you, you are in the right place.

CRPS Is Life-Changing — and Your Claim Should Reflect That

CRPS is not an ordinary work injury. For many people it is one of the most life-altering things that will ever happen to them. The burning, relentless pain is often rated among the most severe pain conditions in medicine — frequently described as worse than an amputation or childbirth. It doesn't just affect the injured arm or leg; it reaches into every corner of a person's life:

• Work: Many people with CRPS can no longer do the job they trained for — and sometimes cannot work at all — because they can't grip, stand, walk, or tolerate touch, temperature, or vibration.
• Daily life: Simple things — getting dressed, holding a coffee cup, sleeping through the night, hugging your kids — can become painful or impossible.
• Mental health: Chronic, unrelenting pain takes a heavy toll. Depression, anxiety, and isolation are common and very real parts of living with CRPS.
• Finances: Lost income collides with a lifetime of medical care — nerve blocks, spinal cord stimulators, medications, and specialist visits that can continue for decades.

Because the impact is this profound and this permanent, a CRPS claim has to be built to protect you for the long term — not settled quickly for what an insurer offers in the first year. That is the difference the right lawyer makes.

Why CRPS Cases Take Special Skill and Experience

CRPS is one of the hardest conditions to prove in all of workers' compensation, and it is not a case to trust to a general practitioner or a lawyer handling their first one. These claims demand specific knowledge and hard-won experience:

• Knowing the medicine. CRPS is diagnosed clinically — there is no single blood test or scan that "proves" it. A lawyer has to understand the Budapest Criteria, the role of pain-management and neurology specialists, and how to document the condition so it holds up.
• Anticipating the insurer's playbook. Carriers routinely deny CRPS, send you to defense medical exams designed to dispute it, and argue the pain is exaggerated or unrelated to work. Experience means seeing those moves coming and being ready for them.
• Proving permanency and future cost. Winning is only half the job — the claim also has to account for a lifetime of treatment and wage loss so a settlement doesn't run out when you still need care.
• Coordinating two claims. When a third party is involved, the comp and personal-injury claims have to be handled together, correctly, so one doesn't undercut the other.

This is exactly the kind of case Attorney Michael Cardamone has built his career on. As a Certified Workers' Compensation Specialist — a credential earned by passing a rigorous exam — who has handled hundreds of CRPS and RSD cases, he brings the specific experience these claims require.

What Is CRPS?

CRPS is a chronic pain condition that usually develops after an injury to a limb — an arm, hand, leg, or foot. The pain is typically far out of proportion to the original injury, and it often comes with swelling, changes in skin color and temperature, sweating, and extreme sensitivity, where even a light touch or a breeze is agonizing. It is thought to involve a malfunction of the nervous system's response to the injury. Learn more in our guide to what CRPS is and how Types 1 and 2 differ.

How Work Injuries Cause CRPS

CRPS frequently begins after common workplace injuries, including:

• Fractures and crush injuries (especially to the hand, wrist, ankle, or foot)
• Sprains, dislocations, and soft-tissue injuries
• Surgery to repair a work injury
• Injuries from a work-related car or truck crash
• Repetitive-motion and lifting injuries

Because CRPS can follow a seemingly "minor" injury, insurers often argue the pain is exaggerated. That is a mistake we do not let them make.

Your Claims: Workers' Comp and Possibly More

If your CRPS developed from a work injury, Pennsylvania workers' compensation should cover your reasonable and necessary medical treatment and a portion of your lost wages, regardless of who was at fault. Michael Cardamone handles that comp claim directly.

If a third party caused the underlying injury — for example, another driver in a work-related crash, or a negligent contractor on a job site — you may also have a third-party personal injury claim that can recover pain and suffering, which workers' comp never pays. We pursue those third-party cases together with our heavyweight Personal Injury colleagues so both claims are coordinated to maximize your total recovery. See your CRPS claim options for the full picture.

Why Insurers Fight CRPS Claims

CRPS is diagnosed clinically, and its symptoms can wax and wane, so insurers frequently deny these claims, send injured workers to defense medical exams, or argue the condition is not work-related. Winning requires the right diagnosis (often under the Budapest Criteria), the right treating specialists, and a lawyer who understands how to prove the condition. That is why experience matters so much here — read how CRPS claims are proven and won.

Serving Philadelphia & All of Pennsylvania

From our offices in Philadelphia, Lansdale, and Pittsburgh, we represent injured workers with CRPS and RSD statewide — Philadelphia, the surrounding counties, and across Pennsylvania. There is no fee unless we win, and the consultation is always free.

CRPS & RSD Guides