How To Seek Workers' Comp For Workplace Violence At The Hospital
If you work in the healthcare industry, you might be exposed to incidents of violence. This not only includes physical violence, such as assault, but also verbal violence and emotional abuse. In some cases, the violence you experience may even lead to you being entitled to compensation.
Physical and Verbal Violence
Violence can come in the form of slurs, insults, harassment, and verbal threats. Violence can also come in the form of physical violence that leads to injuries. For example, if you are a healthcare worker, you might be treating a patient who becomes confused and pulls your hair or pushes you. You might fall and suffer a serious injury.
You might assume that you are only entitled to compensation through workers' compensation insurance if you are physically injured. However, workers' compensation also covers verbal forms of violence. You might have suffered a psychological injury or a stress injury. Therefore, you will want to report this to your employer so they can file a workers' compensation insurance claim.
Challenges With Filing a Claim Involving Verbal Violence
One of the challenges regarding verbal violence is that the injuries you have suffered are internal and it can be more difficult to prove that you're injured. There are fewer objective measurements for determining how injured you are. Also, your psychological injuries might be connected to other types of injuries. However, you should still seek compensation after speaking to a workers' compensation lawyer.
An attorney will help you understand whether you have a good chance of receiving compensation for your injuries. For example, if you receive psychiatric treatment, your attorney will work with you and your psychiatrist to prove that you deserve compensation for your injuries.
Evidence That the Incident Occurred
Regardless of whether you received a physical or psychological injury, you will need to prove that an incident occurred that led to you becoming injured. In most cases, you will need to prove that the incident caused at least half of your injuries. However, if you were the victim of violence or witnessed an extremely violent act, the burden of proof will be lower.
To prove that the incident occurred, you will need help from witnesses. The incident must not be an incident that is normal for your workplace and can't be related to financial problems that your hospital is facing. It also cannot be related to the workers' compensation claim process itself. However, for acts of extreme violence, you may be entitled to compensation.
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