While hospitals are meant to provide care for people already dealing with serious injuries and illnesses, it is not uncommon for doctors, nurses, technicians, and other medical professionals to get seriously hurt or sick while working in this kind of facility. On top of that, healthcare providers often have a deceptively difficult time getting benefits for work-related injuries through their employer’s workers’ compensation insurance, especially if they are not sure what benefits are even available to them in the first place.
If you have recently sustained a hospital workplace injury in Reno, you should strongly consider reaching out to a skilled workers’ comp lawyer from Shook & Stone. You have very limited time to understand and proactively enforce your rights after a workplace injury. Getting help from dependable legal counsel quickly after your accident can make all the difference in what benefits you are ultimately able to obtain through your claim.
Common On-the-Job Injuries for Healthcare Workers
Many of the most common injuries that workers in Reno hospitals suffer are also common in other kinds of workplaces as well—for example:
- Slipping and tripping accidents
- Impacts from falling objects
- Repetitive stress injuries like carpal tunnel
However, hospital employees, in particular, are also uniquely susceptible to suffering cuts and puncture wounds from the misuse or malfunction of medical implements—especially needles used to provide injections or intravenous fluids to patients.
Likewise, work-related illnesses are a much bigger problem in hospitals than they are in most other workplaces in Nevada. This is not just because of how many diseases a doctor may be exposed to on an average day, but also because of how long they may need to stay away from home after contracting even a relatively mild illness. Finally, it is not unheard of for patients—or occasionally their family members—to lash out physically at doctors and nurses for any number of reasons, and injuries stemming from those kinds of attacks are considered “work-related” for workers’ comp purposes.
What Benefits Are Available After Hospital Accidents?
Of course, the primary benefit of workers’ compensation for anyone who suffers a workplace injury at a Reno hospital is reimbursement for the costs of all reasonably necessary medical care to help the injured worker reach maximum medical improvement. In addition, a successful workers’ comp claim could allow a claimant to receive temporary disability benefits to make up for income they lost due to time spent out of work recovering.
If an injury or illness has permanent repercussions, temporary disability benefits may be extended into permanent disability benefits after enough time has passed. Lastly, in the unfortunate event that a work-related injury or illness leads to a hospital worker’s premature death, their surviving family members may be eligible to receive various “death benefits” through their loved one’s workers’ comp coverage.
Talk to a Reno Attorney About a Hospital Workplace Injury Claim
Hospitals can be deceptively dangerous places to work, particularly for healthcare professionals who deal regularly with severe physical or mental illnesses. Even if you just suffer a minor accidental injury that will fully heal with time and proper medical care, you may still be eligible to receive workers’ comp benefits to cover specific losses stemming from that injury.
No matter how you have been hurt or what benefits you want to seek, assistance from a seasoned legal professional is virtually always crucial to handling hospital workplace injuries in Reno effectively. Call Shook & Stone to discuss your options during a free consultation.
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