Nurses are the lifeblood of the healthcare industry, and it’s a very demanding job. They help lift and move patients, they are on their feet all day and unfortunately more recently, they are being assaulted by patients. The last point is currently a point of contention between nurses and Twin Cities hospitals during contract talks, as nurses say they aren’t being adequately compensated for injuries.
We’ve helped numerous individuals in the healthcare industry receive compensation for their injuries, and we can do the same for you at Margolis Law Firm. Below, we take a closer look at injuries among nurses and how we can help maximize your compensation.
Workers’ Compensation For Nurses
As we touched on in the intro, there are a number of hazards nurses face on a daily basis, which can lead to a variety of injuries. They can suffer an acute injury from slipping on wet tile or tripping down the stairs, they can suffer back injuries from repeated movements or from lifting and moving patients, and they can be intentionally or unintentionally injured by an agitated patient. In fact, there were 31 intentional assaults by patients on nurses in 2013, and that number jumped to 70 in 2014. In the years since, that number has remained at 65 or above, and those claims only count the nurses who were disabled for three or more days due to the attack.
Whether you are intentionally injured or simply suffer an injury while providing care, it’s important to know that you are entitled to benefits, but one of the biggest issues facing nurses is oftentimes their biggest reason for entering the field of healthcare in the first place – their selflessness. Many nurses entered the healthcare profession as a way to help others, so when they suffer an injury, their first response is to push through the pain and continue providing care. This is noble, but it can cause serious problems down the road.
Pushing through discomfort can be a problem for a number of reasons. For starters, if you fail to report the injury, the insurance company may deny your claim if you try to file it days or weeks later. Secondly, trying to push through an injury oftentimes makes it worse, which can lead to more pain and time away from work. As much as you want to continue helping people, you need to put your health first in order to provide the best care.
That’s where we come in. At Margolis Law Firm, we can handle every step of your case to ensure that you only need to focus on getting healthy. We’ll file the forms, contact witnesses, arraign medical evaluations and prepare the strongest case possible while you put your health first. Don’t let a work culture that prides itself on long hours and putting the patient first stop you from taking care of your health and collecting what you rightfully deserve for providing care to others. If you’re unsure about your options, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our firm, as we’d be happy to talk about your case and go over your options. For more information or to set up that meeting, give us a call at (952) 230-2700.
