Health Care Workers and Workplace Violence

According to Medical New Today, in September 2010, a nurse was attacked and beaten by a psychiatric patient at Franklin Hospital in New York. She suffered facial fractures requiring multiple surgeries as part of her recovery.

Unfortunately, this type of on-the job violence faced by nurses and other health care nurses is very common. According to studies, 430,000 nurses are victims of on-the-job violence each year, and OSHA estimates that 48% of all non-fatal injuries from occupational assaults and violence occurred in healthcare and social service settings. Sadly, there were also 69 homicides in the health services between 1996 and 2000. Among all healthcare workers, nurses are most likely to be assaulted, and most assaults occurred in hospitals, nursing and personal care facilities.

In 2000, health service workers overall suffered injuries causing days away from work as a result of violent assault at a rate of 9.3 per 10,000 full-time workers. For social workers, the rate was 15 per 10,000 workers, and for personal care facility workers, the rate was 25 per 10,000. In the overall private sector, the injury rate due to violent assault is 2 per 10,000.

The rate of violence in the health care field is actually much higher than OSHA’s figures represent. According to the Department of Justice’s National Crime Victimization Survey for 1993 to 1999, the average annual rate non-fatal violent crime for physicians was 16.2 per 1,000, for nurses, the rate was 21.9 per 1,000, for mental health professionals, the rate was 68.2 per 1,000, and for mental health custodial workers, the rate was 69 per 1,000.

OSHA notes that the actual number of incidents is probably much higher. Violence is likely to be underreported, due in part to the perception within the health care industry that assaults and violence are part of the job. Underreporting may also be due in part to a lack of institutional reporting policies or fear on the part of the employee that reporting violence may reflect poor job performance.

Violence can occur within any area of the health care industry. The health care industry includes public and private hospitals, nursing and residential care facilities, home health care services, outpatient care centers, ambulatory care centers, and medical and diagnostic laboratories. Occupations within this field include, but are not limited to, physicians, surgeons, dentists, dental hygienists and assistants, registered nurses (RN), licensed practical nurses (LPN), licensed vocational nurses (LVN), physician’s assistants, social workers, physical therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists, radiologists, audiologists, chiropractors, dieticians and nutritionists, pharmacists, optometrists, podiatrists, radiologists, technicians, emergency medical technicians (EMT) and paramedics, nursing aids, certified nursing assistants (CNA), home health aides, orderlies and attendants, occupational therapists, medical assistants, personal aides and home health care aides.

Violence is NOT a normal part of the job, nor is it acceptable. If you’re injured at work, even if it seems relatively minor, it is very important that you report it!

I represented a woman who did in-home health care. Over the course of a few years, she had several separate instances where she was assaulted by the clients she was caring for. At the time, she didn’t really think she was injured, but she started to develop worsening low back pain. Finally, while restraining a client who was demonstrating violent behaviors, her back pain suddenly became severe. Within a few months, she had to undergo a two-level fusion in her low back. All of the relatively small injuries she sustained over a few years contributed to significant wear and tear in the discs in her low back, and the final incident, although it was relatively minor, was the proverbial straw that literally broke her back.

Protect your health and your livelihood by reporting your injuries!

Meuser & Associate has represented dozens and dozens of Minnesota health care workers who have sustained on-the-job injuries as a result of violence, or otherwise. Health care workers who sustain injuries arising out of and in the course and scope of their employment may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits.

For a free, no-obligation consultation to learn more about your Minnesota workers’ compensation rights, and how to protect yourself if you’re injured on the job, call us at 877-746-5680 or click here to send us an email to speak with Ron Meuser or Jen Yackley.

Home Health Care Workers and Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Benefits

Our office has represented several home health care workers for a variety of injuries, including, most recently, a low back injury resulting in surgery, a broken ear drum resulting from an assault, a broken leg resulting from a fall down some stairs, Hepatitis C due to exposure from a client, and a torn rotator cuff from lifting a client.

One thing that we see far too often in handing Minnesota workers compensation cases for injured home health care workers and personal care attendants, is poor handling of the situation on behalf of the employer. In fact, upon receipt of our letter of representation, one employer called and left me a message on my voicemail advising me that she was firing the worker for talking to a lawyer. Bad move on her part, and she left the proverbial “smoking gun” evidence on my voicemail. Not all home health care employers behave this way, but for some reason, it seems to be more prevalent in this field.

I can’t stress enough how many of these workers fall through the cracks of the workers’ compensation system. Too many employers of personal care attendants and home health care workers do not report their injuries, and take inappropriate retaliatory actions against them when they do report them. I would recommend to any Minnesota home health care worker who is injured at work to speak with a Minnesota workers’ compensation lawyer to ensure that their rights are protected.

According to the CDC, in 2007, there were 896,800 home health care workers. Amazingly, among those healthcare workers, there were 27,400 injuries reported. It’s anyone’s guess as to how many injuries were not reported. Some of the injuries resulted from unintentional needlesticks, latex allergies, and violence. The most common injuries, however, were sprains, strains, and other musculoskeletal injuries related to lifting and moving patients. The rate of patient lifting injuries in 2007 among healthcare workers was 20.5 per 10,000.

Unfortunately, persons with mobility problems are often not furnished with lifting equipment or adjustable beds. Moreover, nurses, aides, hospice care workers, and other in-home care providers typically work in the client’s home alone. Moving patients by themselves, in cramped quarters, and without lifting equipment is an injury waiting to happen. In fact, research indicates that assistive devices should be used to lift more than 35 pounds of a patient’s weight.

Some examples of ergonomic assistive devices to reduce the incidence of overexertion and musculoskeletal injuries among home healthcare providers include hoists, rolling toileting and showering chairs, grab bars, adjustable beds, raised toilet seats, and slip sheets.

Reducing musculoskeletal injuries involves ergonomic planning to make it physically easier for in-home health care providers to do their jobs. Employers may wish to consult with professional in patient care to evaluate whether and when assistive devices should be used. They should also provide ergonomics training for providers, evaluate each patient-care plan to determine whether ergonomic assistive devices are needed, and reassess the training, the care plan, and the assistive devices to determine their effectiveness.

In order to avoid injuries, home healthcare providers should use ergonomic devices when they are available to avoid manual patient handling, and to use proper body mechanics when manual patient handling is necessary.

Home health care workers are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits if they are injured in the course and scope of their employment. These benefits include medical expense benefits, wage loss benefits, permanency benefits, and rehabilitation benefits. If you are a home health care worker who sustains an injury on the job, make sure you get the benefits you are entitled to.

For a free, no-obligation with one of our Minnesota workers’ compensation lawyers, call Meuser & Associates at 877-746-5680 or click here to send us an email.

Visit us at MeuserLaw.com for more information about Minnesota Workers' Compensation.

Health Care Workers and Minnesota Workers Compensation Injuries

Health care workers, including nurses, nursing assistants, nursing home attendants, laboratory aids, health care aids, orderlies, CPNs, LPNs, PAs and doctors and other types of health care workers are all at risk for work injuries. In Minnesota, work injuries are covered by workers’ compensation, which provides a variety of benefits to injured workers, including wage loss benefits, permanency benefits, rehabilitation benefits, and medical expense benefits.

While health care might not seem like an inherently dangerous business, between 1995 and 2004 health care workers belonged in the group (second only to truck drivers) with the greatest number of reported work injuries and illness. Eight-hundred-thousand health care workers reported injuries or illnesses during this time period. One-hundred-fifty-four health care workers died from their work injuries between 1995 and 2004.

Common types of health care worker injuries include:

• Neck and back strains and sprains
• Musculoskeletal disorders
• Overexertion injuries
• Neck and back disc herniations
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Repetitive motion disorders
• Assaults by patients
• Lifting injuries
• Slip and falls
• Cuts and sticks from sharps (including needles, surgical tools, etc.)
• Exposure to blood borne pathogens, such as HIV, Hepatitis C, Hepatitis B, or other illnesses
  

If you’re a health care worker who has been injured on the job, you may be entitled to Minnesota workers’ compensation, including medical expenses benefits, wage loss benefits, rehabilitation benefits, and/or permanency benefits. Call Meuser & Associates to learn about your rights under Minnesota workers’ compensation. To schedule a free, no-obligation consultation, call us at 877-746-5680 or click here to send us an email.

Visit Minnesota Workers' Compensation and Personal Injury Law Firm, Meuser & Associates, P.A., at MeuserLaw.com