Though it may come as a surprise to some, healthcare workers (i.e., nurses, doctors, attendants, and other caregivers) are regularly exposed to injury risks that are more frequent than those that construction workers, manufacturing workers, and others have to face. Studies conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (and reported by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration) have found that hospital employees experience 6.8 work-related injuries per 100 full-time employees.
In fact, hospitals and clinics are inherently dangerous for healthcare workers in a number of unique ways. Healthcare workers are not only trained to treat patients selflessly — thus leading to situations where the worker may be put in a vulnerable position — but are also regularly engaged with sickly patients that could act as vectors for illness or mentally unstable patients who could attack unsolicited. Depending on the environment, healthcare workers may also be conducting their daily job duties in close proximity to dangerous instruments and heavy equipment.
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A healthcare worker’s particular specialty and department assignment — as well as the layout of the workplace, employer policies, and other factors — can affect the type and severity of injury risks that they’re exposed to. Generally speaking, however, healthcare workers should watch out for the following injury risks in the workplace:
Overexertion due to excessive scheduling and understaffing
Heavy lifting (involving the patient or related medical equipment)
Accident to needle sticking
Cutting injuries resulting from unsafe sharp instrument handling procedures
Patient serves as the vector for illness
Patient attacks healthcare worker (perhaps due to mental illness)
Slip-and-fall and trip-and-fall injuries due to hazards that were not properly inspected, cleaned or warned about
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Injuries include, but are not limited, to:
Back and spinal injuries
Infections
Sprains caused by lifting and/or overexertion
Concussion injuries
Fractures
Severe emotional distress
Development of muscular disorders
It’s important to note that, as a healthcare worker, you do not have to prove that the employer was negligent or otherwise at-fault in order to obtain workers’ compensation benefits. In New Jersey, workers’ compensation benefits are “no fault,” which means that the question of fault is entirely irrelevant to recovery. Instead, you have to show that you were injured on the job, and that the injury is covered by the workers’ compensation plan. Of course, some employers will attempt to deny coverage — which is why it’s critical that you work with an experienced workers’ compensation attorney, such as those at Bramnick, Rodriguez, Grabas, Arnold & Mangan, LLC, who have a track record of success in obtaining compensation.
Contact Our New Jersey Law Firm Today About Your Healthcare Worker Injury
The attorneys at Bramnick, Rodriguez, Grabas, Arnold & Mangan, LLC have over thirty years of experience pursuing workers’ compensation claims in the healthcare context. Our attorneys understand how to navigate the pitfalls of the workers’ compensation process, and how to pursue third-party injury claims, if necessary.
To schedule a free consultation with an experienced workers’ compensation attorney in New Jersey, call (877) 423-4878 today.
