The Risks Associated With Being A Nurse

Nurses face numerous risks to their health and safety every day. Their job is much more dangerous than people realize. When nurses are injured, where can they turn to for help? Can they even file for worker's compensation given that they know the risks of their jobs and do them anyway? All of this and more is answered below.

The Risks Of The Job

Depending on what level of nursing you are at, you may be faced with very different risks. For example, a nursing assistant is often up to his/her elbows in urine, feces, vomit and potentially blood and sexual fluids because of the nature of his/her work.

A registered nurse faces the risks of a lot of blood contact, getting stuck with needles, combative behavior from patients that are high, drunk or suffering from dementia, and even slipping and falling in fluids and bits of bodily organs or flesh on the operating room or emergency room floor. All nurses are at risk of hurting their backs when they have to move heavy patients. In 2015 alone, 35,000 nurses injured their backs while trying to move heavy or obese patients.

Disability Claims and Worker's Compensation

Nurses are covered under worker's compensation, regardless of the risks of their work. TheDisabilityGuys.com states that all hospitals are required to have workers' compensation insurance. That means that if you are a nurse and you are injured on the job, you can file a worker's compensation claim. You have legitimate rights to do so under OSHA.

Disability claims operate a little differently, since you will have to show that you can no longer perform any aspects of your nursing job. Unfortunately, you can probably still do desk work and medication administration, which does not require much effort regardless of your injuries. If your injuries completely debilitate you (i.e., you are partially or totally paralyzed from a gun shot in the emergency room), then you have an official claim to full disability benefits for which you should not be denied.

What to Do If You Have Been Denied

If you were injured and your worker's comp claim and/or disability claim was denied, consult a disability and/or worker's compensation lawyer. He/she can assess your case and determine if you are indeed eligible for benefits. Don't let the fact that you are a nurse in a high-risk profession deter you from seeking help.


Were you injured while working?

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