Health Care Injuries

Massachusetts Disability Attorneys

The Massachusetts workers’ compensation lawyers at Kantrovitz & Associates are experienced advocates in the field of health care injury law. We have successfully recovered benefits for countless nurses, certified nurse aides (CNAs), and other medical care providers who have suffered job-related musculoskeletal disorders and back injuries. For over 20 years, we have provided comprehensive and personalized representation to injured health care providers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.

Nurses, CNAs, and Health Care Workers

Occupational illness and disability among health care providers remains rampant, while often flying under the radar of public awareness. Nursing has the second highest incidence of non-fatal work injuries reported among all high-risk jobs, adversely affecting nearly 1.5 million skilled workers in the U.S. Health workers most likely to become sick, disabled, or injured on the job include:

• Nurses, CNAs
• Doctors, dentists
• Home health aides
• Psychiatric workers
• Orderlies, attendants
• Orthopedic assistants
• Emergency room aides
• Residential facility staff

Every day, 9,000 health care workers sustain disabling injuries while on the job. Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants reported the highest number of injuries, outpaced only by truck and heavy tractor-trailer drivers. The Bureau of Labor has reason to believe that the incidence rate is higher because one-third of nurses, especially CNAs, never report injuries.

Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs)

The most common types of nonfatal injuries in the health care industry are MSDs. Other occupational illnesses and transportation accidents are the only other reported causes of disability and death. Almost 50% of nurses and CNAs report hurting their backs while helping patients. MSDs among health care workers are caused by many factors, including:

• Exposure to long shifts
• Standing for long periods
• Greater patient load, fatigue
• Inadequate training, supervision
• Lack of weight handling protocol
• Increased demands on understaffed
• Poor working conditions, relationships
• Repetitive strain, overloaded back muscles
• Improper lifting, turning, moving of patients
• Compressed nerves, cumulative spinal damage

Nurses and CNAs must transport patients between beds several times during a single shift, often leaning over the bed to care for patient needs. Constantly lifting, transferring, and supporting often agitated patients places increased strain on the spine. CNAs are expected to lift as much as 3,000 pounds per day, resulting in 4 times the number of back injuries suffered by registered nurses.

Professional Consequences

Back-related MSDs caused by awkward bodily positions and patient handling are the single greatest cause of the current nursing shortage. At least 25% of all health aides who sustain back injuries cannot return to work, resulting in a 100% turnover rate in some states. Massachusetts law requires that employers provide workers’ compensation for MSDs and other work-related injuries. Benefits may include compensation for lost work time, protracted medical care, and permanent disability caused by the job. Nurses, CNAs, and other health workers may also be entitled to a lump-sum settlement and/or weekly cash payments based on their weekly wage.

Recover Workers’ Compensation Benefits Today

If you have suffered a health care work-related injury, the Massachusetts workers’ compensation attorneys at Kantrovitz & Associates can help. We have obtained substantial awards for registered nurses, CNAs, and health care providers for over 20 years. Let us put our experience to work for you in seeking full compensation for your loss. Our Boston office is proud to represent injured workers in areas including, but not limited to, Plymouth, Essex, Middlesex, Suffolk, Norfolk, and Merrimack Counties. Call 800-367-0871 or contact us online for a free consultation.