“Ouch!”
“What happened?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. I just felt a little pull along my waistline when I was trying to reposition old Mr. Smithers.”
“You should probably report it to the Supervising Nurse.”
“Nah, it’s nothing. It’ll go away. I just started my job here and CNA’s are too easy to replace. I really need this job.”
•••
How many times have you nurses and CNA’s heard this seemingly benign conversation take place on the job? Too many times to count no doubt, as little pulls, strains, aches and pains are part of the job in the medical field.
And how many times have you heard of, or experienced yourself, one of these ‘little’ bumps or strains turning into something bigger requiring medical attention? Again, probably more times than you can count.
Sure, you know you have a right to seek medical treatment and have the charges paid through workman’s compensation insurance, but maybe you hesitate to use the work comp insurance because you’re afraid of losing your job. What you might not know is that it is against the law for an employer to terminate an employee simply because they filed a work comp claim.
Nurses and CNA’s are particularly susceptible to work place injuries by the very nature of the job. You wouldn’t hesitate to report a needle prick because you know the possibility of long term consequences and it can be devastating. But a simple back strain (from lifting or pushing a patient) or a knee contusion (from slipping in the shower while helping your patient) can also cause long term, medical disorders. These types of injuries start as inconsequential, but very often become years long battles toward full recovery. The monetary costs can be enormous.
If you decided not to report your injury and a few weeks down the road you realize that this time your symptoms worsened, your claim will be questioned and possibly denied. The treatment costs and the lost wages could all fall on you.
Medical industry employers understand that workplace injuries occur. They will not be surprised when you do need to seek medical treatment for an on-the-job injury. Even so, the workman’s compensation administrator, an employee of the company, will try to lessen the employer’s workman’s comp rating (that determines the cost of their insurance coverage) by avoiding as many claims as possible.
If you feel you have been wrongly swayed against filing a workman’s compensation claim, you can get legal advice from Denver workers’ comp legal firm Kaplan Morrell. Remember, your own health and well being must be protected so that you can continue with your job duties. You chose the nursing profession because of your nurturing, selfless character. But you don’t want to take yourself out of the running by risking long term health issues because you did not (timely) report a work place injury.
Hopefully all of the endless safety training meetings have come in handy and have helped you avoid injuries. But in case the unexpected happens and you do experience a mishap on the job, know that workman’s compensation insurance is there for you.
Kaplan Morrell is available to answer all your workman’s compensation questions. Call 303-780-7329 today to learn more about your rights as a medical worker or fill out the form below and we’ll set up a FREE workers’ compensation claim.
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