Patient-Handling Injuries: What Nurses Should Do After Hurting Their Back, Neck or Shoulder

As a nurse, you know lifting patients or heavy equipment is a crucial part of the job. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the easiest ways to hurt your back, neck, and shoulders. These injuries are so common many nurses treat them as a part of life. In fact, 72% of nurses worldwide report having chronic low back pain from moving patients.

While it’s tempting to “work through” the pain, ignoring your injuries can seriously damage your workers’ comp claim. Here’s what you need to do if you’ve been hurt.

How Back, Neck, And Shoulder Accidents Happen

The majority of these injuries usually happen after:

• Lifting or repositioning a patient in bed
• Transferring a patient to or from a wheelchair, stretcher, or vehicle
• Catching or supporting a patient who’s falling or unsteady
• Repetitive strain from doing these tasks multiple times a shift, day after day

Sometimes it’s one bad moment, such as dislocating a shoulder or experiencing sharp neck pain during a transfer. In other cases, the pain builds gradually over months or years.

Why Nurses Downplay These Injuries

Nurses are used to long shifts and physically demanding workdays, so pain isn’t seen as something out of the ordinary. Whether it’s a strained back or sore shoulder, it simply gets chalked up as part of the job. 

The problem is, that instinct works against you when it comes time to file for workers’ comp benefits. A successful claim proves a clear nexus between your injury and your workplace. The more evidence you have proving this connection, the easier it’ll be for you to get approved.

What to Do Right After An Accident

Report It Immediately

Don’t wait until after your shift, or once it’s “still bothering you” a few days later. Telling your supervisor early minimizes any possibility of your employer’s insurance company downplaying your claim or claiming it wasn’t work-related at all. 

Get Treatment For Your Injuries

Seek medical help for your injury as soon as you can. A medical provider can give you the treatment you need and any recovery plan you need to heal properly. Any medical records you receive also serve as a valuable piece of evidence for your case.

Write Down The Specifics

The Board wants a detailed picture of what happened. Be sure to mention the task, patient, date, time, and anything else you can remember from the accident.

Don’t Wait Until Later

Delayed reporting is one of the easiest things for an insurer to use against you. If you wait weeks to say something, it’s easy for them to argue the injury didn’t happen the way you say it did. In New York, you generally have 30 days to report a workplace injury.  But filing your paperwork sooner leaves you in a much stronger position if the insurer decides to push back.

You Don’t Have to Handle This Alone

If you’ve been hurt lifting, repositioning, or transferring a patient, don’t stay silent. You have a legal right to file a claim. If you run into pushback from your employer or their insurance company, our New York workers’ compensation lawyers are here to protect your rights. Contact us online or call us at 855-598-1413 for a free consultation today.