Nurses, CNAs, Hospital Workers, VNAs and Healthcare Workers that are injured on the job are entitled to workers compensation benefits. Call our Boston Nursing Injury lawyers today and get the compensation you deserve for neck and back injuries sustained on the job.

Healthcare workers perform important job functions and help provide much-needed assistance in home care institutions, hospitals, medical clinics, nursing homes and rehabilitation centers. Healthcare workers face a variety of risks that can result in serious and long lasting injuries.

Healthcare Workers Are at High Risk for Non-Fatal Workplace Injuries

The Center for Disease Control’s reports that workers in the healthcare field are at greater risk of non-fatal occupational injuries than any other profession in the United States. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration reports that in 2011 there were 58,860 work-related injuries and illnesses that caused healthcare workers to miss work.

Some of the most common ways in which healthcare workers are injured include the following:

  • Biological hazards
  • Drug and chemical exposure
  • Needle sticks
  • Overexertion and repetitive stress injuries
  • Patient handling injuries
  • Respiratory damage
  • Slip and fall accidents
  • Understaffing at hospitals
  • Violence by patients
  • Workplace neck and back injuries
  • Lifting injuries

Some of the most common injuries faced by individuals include the following:

  • Bloodborne diseases
  • Broken bones
  • Head injuries
  • Infections
  • Musculoskeletal disorders
  • Bulging, Herniated or Protruding Cervical and Lumbar Discs discs resulting in sciatica or radiculopathy
  • Sprains and strains

Safety Precautions for Healthcare Workers to Help Reduce the Risk of Workplace Injuries

There are some recommended safety precautions that healthcare workers should take to avoid being injured in workplace accidents. Some of these pieces of advice include the following:

  • Follow All Necessary Safety Precautions to Avoid Exposure to Bloodborne Pathogens. This category includes several pieces of advice including workers should make sure to wear adequate protective clothing to keep body fluids off of their skin, practice good hand hygiene, and make sure to adequately clean and decontaminate instruments.
  • Remain Cautious When Work with Sharp Instruments. There are many sharp instruments at medical facilities that can spread diseases to workers including needles, scalpels, and other sharp objects. Workers should avoid the use of needles if at all possible as well implement other steps to avoid these injuries including using needles and scalps with rounded tips.
  • Remember the RACE Concept in the Event of a Fire. There is a risk of fires occurring in emergency rooms due to the presence of many flammable materials. In the case of a fire, healthcare workers should remember the “RACE” concept which includes rescuing anyone nearby, activating fire alarms, containing the fires, and extinguishing the fire.
  • Take Proper Safety Precautions Against Chemical Hazards. There are various chemical hazards in the healthcare industry that can seriously injure workers including chemotherapy drugs, mercury, phthalates, and triclosan. Healthcare workers should receive proper training on how to work in the presence of these potential hazards.
  • Use Assistance to Reduce the Risk of Musculoskeletal Injuries. Healthcare workers who must transport or lift patients are at high risk of experiencing various musculoskeletal conditions. To avoid being injured by these activities, healthcare workers should make sure to use electronic hoists, slings, and slip sheets whenever possible.

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Workers’ Compensation Benefits Available to Injured Healthcare Workers

Our Brockton workers’ compensation attorneys are able to secure the following benefits for injured workers and their families when workers sustain injuries for accidents that occur within the scope of the workers employment:

  • Section 35- Temporary Partial Disability: These benefits are provided if the work injury has reduced the workers earning capacity by limiting to type of work or amount of work the injured employee can perform. Partial disability workers’ compensation benefits entitle injured workers to 60% of the wages they would have earned from their job if they did not get injured. These benefits are paid weekly for up to 260 weeks. The maximum compensation cannot exceed 75% of the workers temporary total disability pay rate.
  • Section 34- Temporary Total Disability Benefits: These benefits are provided if the injury has left the employee physically incapable of working. Temporary Total Disability workers’ compensation benefits entitle the injured worker to 60% of the wages they would have earned from their job if they did not get injured. These benefits are paid weekly and can be paid for up to 156 weeks or 3 years;
  • Section 34A-Permanent & Total Disability Benefits: These benefits are provided if the injury has left the worker permanently unable to perform any type of work. Total Disability workers’ compensation benefits entitle injured workers 66.66% of their average weekly wage;
  • Section 36-Scarring, Disfigurement and Loss of Function Benefits: These benefits are payable if the injury is permanent. Benefits for scarring are only available for scars on the hands, neck and face. This is a one time lump sum payment and the amount depends on the type of injury.

Massachusetts Healthcare Workers’ Compensation Claims Attorneys

If you or a loved one is an injured healthcare worker, do not hesitate to contact a skilled Boston work injury lawyer. The Law Offices of Gerald J. Noonan are a group of Massachusetts work accident lawyers with over 35 years of legal experience. Our legal counsel has helped individuals who have been injured in a number of work site accidents including ladder fall accidents. Call our Brockton work injury lawyers today for a free consultation.

Our personal injury and workmans’ compensation claims attorneys assist accident victims throughout all of Massachusetts including but not limited to Plymouth County, Brockton, Plymouth, Bridgewater, Marshfield, Hingham, Duxbury, Wareham, Abington, Rockland, Whitman, Hanson, Holbrook, Middleborough; Norfolk County including Quincy, Stoughton, Dedham, Weymouth, Braintree, Avon, Holbrook, Randolph, Canton, Sharon, Brookline, Franklin; Bristol County including New Bedford, Fall River, Taunton, Attleboro, Westport, Dartmouth, Mansfield, Easton, Raynham, Lakeville, Norton; Cape Cod, Hyannis, Falmouth, Barnstable and the Greater Boston area including Cambridge, Somerville, Medford, Everett, Lawrence, Lynn, Revere, Dorchester, Roxbury.