Working in a hospital is the most dangerous occupation of all. Believe it or not, it is more hazardous than working in the construction or manufacturing industries. In fact, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reports that working in a hospital is twice as dangerous as working in the private industry as a whole. For every 100 full-time hospital workers, 6.8 individuals annually must take time off of work due to a work-related injury or illness. That means nearly 55 injuries a year for the Albany Medical Center (AMC), which has nearly 800 employees. St. Peter’s, which is another large healthcare employer in the Capital region, although with fewer beds than AMC, also has its share of annual hospital worker injuries.
As a healthcare professional, you know of the potential you have for injuring yourself as you care for others. Whether you work in a hospital, nursing home, medical office, or homecare setting, your duties expose you to hazards that could lead to an injury that leaves you unable to work as you recover. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), hospital workers are more likely to miss work due to injury than workers in the construction or manufacturing industries.
While caring for incapacitated patients, nurses lift and move patients during tasks that require nurses to lift them as they attend to wounds and personal needs and move them into wheelchairs and onto gurneys, putting themselves at risk for back, hip, and knee injuries. Wet floors, electrical cords, and medical equipment creating slipping and tripping hazards for nurses in hospital rooms and clinics. Exposure to bodily fluids of infected patients and sharp needles place nurses at risk of contracting infectious diseases or being exposed to toxic substances.
New York workers’ compensation law provides that a treating medical provider may discuss an injured employee’s medical history, diagnosis, causation, course of treatment, prognosis, work restrictions and impairments with the workers’ compensation insurance carrier, the employer or certified rehabilitation professionals (nurse case managers).
However, before any discussion may take place the injured employee must be notified by the employer, insurance carrier or its representative, or nurse case manager about the discussion at least ten days before the anticipated communication; be allowed to be present during any such discussion or communication, along with the employee’s attorney if represented; regularly be informed by the employer, insurance carrier or nurse case manager about the nature of the communication before the discussion
At HURT-511, our personal injury lawyers help injured workers recover the benefits to which they are entitled by law. For a free consultation with an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer, call us toll-free at 800-4878-511 or complete our online form. Our firm handles accident and injury claims throughout all five boroughs of New York.
HURT-511 operates in all boroughs of New York including all Bronx neighborhoods, namely: Bedford Park, Belmont, Fordham, Highbridge, Hunts Point, Jerome Park, Kingsbridge, Morris Park, Morrisania, Mott Haven, Parkchester, Riverdale, Spuyten Duyvil, Throgs Neck, University Heights
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