Health care employees are on track to confront a mix of risk factors that impact their wellness on the job. One report has noted that although the overall number of safety claims was decreasing, the severity of those that filed was rising. Health care workers in Pennsylvania may also be interested in learning that the study demonstrated links between the safety of patients and the safety of caregivers.
Important risk factors highlighted by the research included the adoption of Safe Patient Handling policies that may focus on lowering the risk of employee injury. The fact that a significant percentage of nurses were over the age of 50 was also implicated as a potentially contributing factor in claim severity, as these victims typically exhibited a high incidence of injuries. Some employers were also noted for their lack of HR programs designed to give older workers safer employment alternatives.
Around 91 percent of the 1,600 health care providers that were polled for the study revealed that workplace violence had struck their facilities within the preceding three-year time frame. Only 81 percent of workplaces, however, had instituted formal policies to prevent such incidents.
Making a workers’ compensation claim following an on-the-job injury can be one step in a victim’s recovery. In addition to having to go through certain filing formalities, injured workers may find it necessary to investigate the employer practices that contributed to them getting harmed. Claimants could benefit from talking to attorneys about ways to prove that their employers acted negligently or insufficiently with regards to maintaining safe working conditions and corrective mechanisms.