Hospital Workers Compensation I am a nurse and I work in a hospital. I have been working nights this week and last night I was lifting a patient into bed when I injured my back. I would usually use a hoist to lift a patient however the one available in the ward was broken. I was waiting on a hoist from another floor when my supervisor told me to hurry up because I was needed in another room. I have been to my doctor today and he’s sending me to have some scans on my back. I’m worried because a lot of nurses I know have had to leave nursing because of back injuries. What are my entitlements to workers compensation while I recover from my back injury and what happens if I can’t go back to work at all? Many nurses leave nursing because of back injuries. At the time of writing over 40 per cent of injuries experienced by nurses are back injuries sustained from the manual handling of patients such as assisting patients to bed. Your back injury was sustained while you were at work and this means that you are entitled to receive workers compensation. You may also have a claim for work injury damages because of the circumstances in which your injury occurred. It is important that you obtain legal advice as soon as possible from a workers compensation expert to ensure that your entitlements to compensation are not lost. What are your entitlements to workers compensation? The type and amount of workers compensation you are entitled to receive will depend on the severity of your injury and your prospects of rehabilitation. Generally, you will be entitled to the following payments: -Payment or reimbursement of your medical and rehabilitation expenses. -Weekly compensation payments whilst you are unable to work and earn an income because of your injury. -A lump sum payment if it is decided that you have suffered a permanent impairment because of your injury. What are your entitlements to work injury damages? The circumstances in which your injury occurred may entitle you to work injury damages. To be successful in a claim for work injury damages you need to show that your back injury was the result of your employer’s negligence. Your employer was negligent in not ensuring that the hoist you required to lift patients to bed was in good working order and failing to provide an alternative means for you to lift patients without injury. If your claim for work injury damages is successful than you will be entitled to receive compensation for your past and future economic loss which is important if you are unable to return to work as a result of your back injury. If you have been injured in a hospital workers workplace accident and you’re not sure who to talk to about your entitlement to workers compensation than give Frank a call. It won’t cost you a cent and you will be getting advice that insurers would rather you didn’t hear. Call Frank today on (02) or email him at | 
