Workers’ compensation in the healthcare industry provides benefits to employees who sustain job-related injuries or illnesses. These injuries can range from sprains and strains to needlesticks to severe bone fractures, and they can have a significant impact on the affected individual’s ability to work and daily life.
If you were in an accident while working as a healthcare professional in Hershey, PA, contact Calhoon & Kaminsky P.C. for a free consultation with an experienced member of our legal team. Our lawyers can walk you through the workers’ comp claims process, explain the benefits you could recover for your medical expenses and lost wages, and answer any questions you have about your case.
Understanding Workers’ Compensation Coverage for Healthcare Workers
Workers’ comp for healthcare workers is essential for providing employees suffering from work-related injuries and illnesses with medical benefits, wage loss benefits, and other benefits, such as vocational rehabilitation, if the worker cannot return to their pre-injury position.
Pennsylvania’s workers’ compensation system is a no-fault insurance system that provides these benefits to employees regardless of who was at fault for their injuries. Most Pennsylvania employers are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Workers’ comp claims often result in injured workers receiving compensation sooner than they would if they had filed a personal injury lawsuit. However, the no-fault system and the speed at which workers can receive benefits come at a cost.
Injured healthcare workers covered by the state’s workers’ comp system cannot sue their employers for work-related injuries. This means they cannot recover compensation beyond the benefits afforded by workers’ comp, such as compensation for pain and suffering.
Additionally, healthcare workers classified as independent contractors are not covered by the workers’ compensation system. However, they can file injury lawsuits against their employers or any other parties responsible for causing them harm.
Common Workplace Injuries for Healthcare Workers
Healthcare workers can sustain a wide variety of injuries on the job due to the various hazards they’re exposed to. Some of the most common of these workplace injuries include the following:
- Sprains and Strains – According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), sprains and strains account for 54 percent of reported workplace injuries in the healthcare industry. These injuries affect the muscles, ligaments, and tendons, and may be caused by lifting objects or slipping and falling.
- Back Injuries – Healthcare workers may also experience back and spinal cord injuries caused by falls. Slips, trips, and falls may result from wet floors and cluttered hallways.
- Repetitive Stress Injuries – Not all work-related injuries result from a single, traumatic event. Over time, repetitive stress injuries can develop if your job requires performing the same tasks over and over. These injuries often affect the wrists, elbows, and shoulders.
- Bone Fractures – While not as common as some other types of injuries, bone fractures can still occur in healthcare settings. Typically, they result from slips and falls.
- Head Injuries – Head and traumatic brain injuries can also result from slipping and falling at work. Brain injuries are particularly serious because they can lead to cognitive and physical disabilities, depending on the severity and the part of the brain damaged.
- Needlestick Injuries – These incidents are particularly prevalent among healthcare workers. A needlestick injury can expose a worker to infectious diseases, including Hepatitis and HIV.
- Chemical Exposure – Healthcare workers may develop skin rashes or respiratory illnesses if exposed to dangerous chemicals used for sterilization or treating certain diseases.
- Occupational Illness – Because healthcare workers frequently come into contact with sick individuals, they are at a higher risk of contracting certain diseases while working.
How to File a Workers’ Comp Claim for Healthcare Workers in Hershey, Pennsylvania
The first step in filing a workers’ comp claim as a healthcare worker in Hershey, Pennsylvania, is to report your work injury to your employer or supervisor. You must report your injury or illness within 120 days of the incident that caused it or when you learned that it was related to your work to protect your right to seek workers’ comp benefits.
Additionally, to receive retroactive benefits, you must report your injury within the first 21 days. This will allow you to receive wage loss benefits for the first seven days you were off work, as well as for any other days between your date of injury and your reporting date.
After you report your injury, you should seek medical treatment with a doctor found on your employer’s approved physician’s list. You must receive treatment from one of these doctors for the first 90 days following your injury for workers’ comp to cover your medical benefits. After that point, you can seek treatment from any doctor of your choosing.
Two notable exceptions to the physician’s list requirement are when you need to seek emergency treatment or when you require treatment from a specialist, and there is no applicable one on the list.
When you report your injury to your employer, they will file a First Report of Injury document with the state, and their insurer will have 21 days to accept or deny your claim. If your claim is accepted, your benefits will begin. However, if it’s denied, your lawyer can help you file an appeal or take the insurer to court, if necessary.
Lost Wages and Disability Benefits for Healthcare Workers’ Compensation Claims
In addition to having your reasonable and necessary medical expenses related to the workplace injury covered, the other workers’ comp benefits you could receive cover a portion of your lost wages and provide compensation based on your level of disability.
Wage replacement benefits provide approximately two-thirds of your pre-injury average weekly wage, up to a maximum amount set annually by the state. These benefits continue until you return to full, pre-injury employment, have medically recovered to the point where you are no longer under work restrictions, or are medically able to perform another available job with no loss in earnings.
If your injury resulted in you losing permanent use of a body part, you can also recover specific loss benefits for your disability. The amount of compensation you receive for these benefits depends on the affected body part and its level of impairment.
Lastly, family members of healthcare workers who died as a result of their workplace injuries or illnesses can seek death benefits. These benefits provide compensation based on the deceased workers’ average weekly wage to their surviving dependents.
Challenges Healthcare Workers Face When Filing for Workers’ Compensation
Healthcare workers face many of the same challenges as other types of workers when filing for workers’ compensation benefits. However, these workers also face unique challenges related to both the operation of their industry and the types of injuries they’re more likely to sustain while working.
Some of the most common challenges you may face include the following:
- Feeling pressured to return to work before you are medically ready due to staff shortages
- Illegal retaliation from employers, supervisors, and managers for seeking workers’ compensation benefits or because you’re unavailable to work during your recovery
- Difficulty linking your injury to your work, particularly if it is a repetitive stress injury or occupational illness
- Dealing with the insurance company denying your claim due to a pre-existing condition
- Having your employer delay filing their First Report of Injury causing you to have to wait longer to receive your benefits
An experienced healthcare workers’ comp attorney can help you overcome these challenges and recover the benefits you are entitled to following your workplace injury.
How a Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Helps Healthcare Professionals
A workers’ compensation lawyer can help you with your healthcare work injury claim by handling the claim on your behalf. After speaking to you about the incident and your injury or illness, your lawyer can handle everything else relating to your claim, so you just have to focus on making a full recovery.
Some of the tasks our lawyers can perform for you include the following:
- Investigating the incident to identify the at-fault parties, particularly if you may also have a third-party injury claim
- Gathering evidence to support your workers’ compensation claim, including eyewitness statements, medical records, expert testimony, accident scene photographs, and security camera footage
- Calculating the value of your workers’ comp benefits to make sure you receive the benefits you are entitled to
- Filing appeals with your employer’s workers’ comp insurer or the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, if your claim is denied
- Providing general legal advice throughout your case and keeping you up to date on its status, so you know what to expect
Contact the Workers’ Comp Lawyers at Calhoon & Kaminsky P.C. For Help
If you were injured as a healthcare worker in Hershey, Pennsylvania, you need a workers’ compensation lawyer who understands the unique challenges that healthcare workers face and has the legal knowledge and experience to take the fight to the insurance company.
At Calhoon & Kaminsky P.C., our healthcare workers’ comp lawyers have over 20 years of experience handling claims and have recovered more than $221 million for injured workers. Contact us today for a free, fully confidential consultation with a highly qualified member of our team to learn more about your options and what to expect from your case.
