In the healthcare industry, those who are tasked with caring for patients can often become injured themselves and the healthcare industry is one of the industries where workers file workers' compensation claims the most often. Like with other industries, you will be entitled to compensation for your injuries if you are injured while providing healthcare services.
Anticipate Challenges Associated with Workers' Comp Cases in Healthcare
You might have become injured because you were infected by another patient. However, to receive compensation, you will need to prove that you were infected while on the job. Some states have made changes to their rules, however, to make sure that frontline workers have access to workers' compensation benefits.
Anyone who works in the healthcare industry is potentially at risk of becoming infected. This not only includes doctors and nurses but also those who do laundry or prepare food. However, because it is not always clear how you may have become infected, you will need help from an experienced workers' compensation lawyer to prove that you are entitled to benefits.
Prove You Were Infected at Work
First, you must determine the type of pathogen that you have become infected with. After that, you may be able to prove that one of the patients you were in contact with had the same condition and that you may have been infected by the patient. Your workers' compensation lawyer will be able to investigate exactly how the infection occurred.
One of the most common reasons for workers' compensation benefits to be denied is a lack of medical evidence. Therefore, you will need to make sure to ask your workers' compensation insurance provider about the specific medical documents that a workers' compensation insurance provider would require.
Understand the Advantages of Workers' Compensation Insurance
There are limits to how much you may be compensated through workers' compensation insurance based on the laws of your state. However, workers' compensation benefits are still ideal if you have become infected because it is a no-fault system. You will simply need to prove that you became infected while at work.
Even after you have received benefits from workers' comp, you will still be entitled to file a personal injury claim against a third party if you believe that another party was responsible for your infection. For example, you may be entitled to compensation if a product meant to protect against infections was defective. You can learn more by contacting a workers' compensation lawyer.
Someone else does something silly. You get hurt and incur thousands of dollars' worth of medical bills, and you're also forced to take a month off from work. It doesn't really sound fair, does it? It's not. But luckily, there is a way you can ensure the responsible party ends up paying for your expenses, and that's by hiring a personal injury attorney. Your attorney can file a civil suit against the person who caused your injuries, so you can get paid what you deserve.
Learn more about personal injury attorneys and the work they do right here. When you're injured due to someone else's actions, this information will come in really handy.