Category Archives: Work Injury

Medical Care, Work Injury, Worker Safety, Workplace Hazard

Violence Research By UW

“In May, the State of Washington awarded $1 million to the UW School of Medicine for the formation of the Firearm Injury & Policy Research Program. The program seeks to answer urgent questions involving firearm risks, injuries, policies and programs in Washington state.” – UW Medicine

Violence research by UW Medicine researchers provides findings that support the contention of ongoing impacts to physical and mental health subsequent to experiencing violence. Workplace violence is increasingly prevalent, with immediate and long-lasting consequences for the victims of this violence.

The lasting effects of workplace violence can require ongoing medical and psychiatric care, can impede the victim’s ability to return to work and, in some cases, can result in permanent impairments. In my experience, the mental health impacts can be the most insidious and difficult to overcome. The difficulties are compounded if an injured worker encounters pushback from the Department of Labor and Industries, sometimes in the form of treatment denials, other times through not recognizing the difficulty in returning to work or not acknowledging the presence of permanent impairment.

UW Medicine recently released the news of the completion and presentation of the researcher’s findings. Violence research findings that span every age and a variety of circumstances, but findings that can be applied to workplace violence cases, as well. The full text of the UW Medicine release can be read here, and is excerpted, below:

Violence has complex, far-reaching impacts on health

A new paper by UW Medicine researchers offers a broad, updated look at the interrelated impacts of violence on physical and mental health across age groups, from infants to elderly people.

The authors compiled recent compelling findings about health effects of child abuse, bullying, youth violence, adult interpersonal violence, and elder abuse, among others.  The paper was published Oct. 7 in Health Affairs. Its authors represent the Firearm Injury & Policy Research Program, based at the Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center.

“Violence has important consequences for physical and mental health. These consequences vary with the type of violence and age, but all of them can be severe, debilitating and lifelong,” said Dr. Fred Rivara, the paper’s lead author. He is a professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine and adjunct professor of epidemiology at the UW School of Public Health.

“The findings of our review point out the need to both treat the victims of violence and prevent these types of violence from occurring in the first place,” Rivara said.

By organizing their findings by age group, the authors highlighted the cumulative, interrelated harms of violence across the lifespan. For example, research has found that victims of child abuse have an elevated risk of depression, suicidality, drug use, and certain chronic illnesses later in life. Because of that risk, they are also more likely to later experience intimate partner violence, which in turn heightens risk of depression, anxiety, asthma, gastrointestinal disorders, chronic pain, and other health issues.

An overview of many types of violence also helps broaden research and policy perspectives beyond the immediate physical trauma, and draws attention to long-term health impacts. These harms affect not only individuals, but also indirectly traumatize family, friends, and communities.

Mental injury, PTSD, Types of injuries, Work Injury

PTSD in the Aftermath of a Work Injury

PTSD following a work injury can be compensable

Today’s post comes from guest author Charlie Domer, from The Domer Law Firm.

Note: in Washington State, coverage issues are very similar to those Mr. Domer describes in Wisconsin. – kc

Recovery from a work injury is more than just the physical aspect.  After bones heal, joints are repaired, and spines are fixed, many workers still face psychological scars from the injury’s impact.  Some workers suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after a trauma.  Workers with PTSD need to heal psychologically too.

The silver lining is that the Wisconsin workers’ compensation law covers that psychological treatment.  An “injury” under Wisconsin law can be either physical or mental harm from the effects of an injury.  If a worker experiences a psychological diagnosis (and need for treatment) stemming from a traumatic physical injury, the applicable legal standard is the same, as those for a physical injury.  Specifically, the psychological care, and corresponding benefits (for lost time and permanency), is compensable if the physical work injury is the direct cause of the need psychological care or even if the injury aggravated, accelerated, and precipitated a pre-existing psychological condition beyond its normal progression.  (i.e., if the work event made the person’s psychological condition permanently worse).    

A purely mental/emotional stress injury, however, has a different, higher standard.  These are claims where the worker alleges their workplace environment (without a physical injury) causes their psychological condition (examples would inlcude witnessing a horrendous event, a berating supervisor, or an unbearable workload).  In these “mental-mental” circumstances, the worker must meet the extraordinary stress test–showing their experience was greater than the day to day emotional strains all workers must undergo.   Suffice to say, this is a tough standard for most workers to meet, making these claims difficult to pursue.

In stark contrast, if a worker suffers a physical injury and then begins to experience PTSD, such claims and medical treatment expenses generally are compensable–if the psychologist or psychiatrist provides their support.   Medical support for the psychological condition and care is key.

A recent article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel offers excellent insight for PTSD sufferers following a traumatic incident: Life After a Car Crash: Could You Be Experiencing PTSD?  In the article, Dr. Terri deRoon-Cassini seeks to spread awareness of the prevalence of PTSD symptoms and need for treatment after an accident.  She offers a litany of specific symptoms that individuals may experience in their post-injury recovery, including:

  • intrusive flashbacks/nightmares
  • avoidance behaviors
  • hyper-arousal, or
  • negative mood/thinking.

More importantly, Dr. deRoon-Cassini higlights the need for proper and timely psychological care–along with the ability to achieve a positive recovery. 

Workers can receive compensation during their psychological recovery, as well as vocational benefits if their psychological limits do not allow a return to their pre-injury employment.   No matter what, injured workers need to be aware of their psychological/emotional state and to not be afraid to get the needed psychological care.

Disability, Health, health insurance, Uncategorized, Work Injury, Worker Safety, Workers' Compensation

How Safe Is Healthcare for Workers?

Today’s post comes from guest author Rod Rehm, from Rehm, Bennett & Moore.

The issue raised by Mr. Rehm was investigated thoroughly in a book given to us by a client, an injured nurse who contributed her story to the effort under a pseudonym: Back Injury Among Healthcare Workers, published by Lewis Publishers. It is a great resource, providing case-studies, statistics and suggestions for improvements for workers in the healthcare field.

The article that today’s blog post is based upon is an in-depth look at how one state’s OSHA office interacts with a sector of the healthcare community: hospitals. Like Iowa, but unlike Nebraska, Oregon is one of 27 states or U.S. territories that has an OSHA office at the state level. 

The “Lund Report: Unlocking Oregon’s Healthcare System” article talks extensively about nuances within ways that OSHA offices, whether state or federal, can measure the safety of healthcare providers like hospitals and nursing homes. 

As evidenced in previous blog posts about senior-care workers and lifting injuries, I have continuing concerns for the safety of healthcare workers. 

According to the in-depth article, “A Lund Report review suggests that in Oregon, regulators are de-emphasizing attention to hospital employee safety, despite national data showing that healthcare workers are injured in the U.S. each year at rates similar to farmers and hunters. Most Oregon hospitals have not been inspected by the state Occupational Safety and Health Division in years. And when on-the-job hazards are detected, Oregon’s OSHA office levies the lowest average penalties in the country.”

Should workers get lost as the patients are the focus of these healthcare institutions? Should regulation and inspections or fines by such groups as OSHA be the driving force toward workplace safety for healthcare employees?

It seems to me that healthcare administrators’ emphasis on profit is more important than proper concern for their employees – the nation’s caregivers. And if you or your family member is the healthcare worker who gets hurt on the job, this lack of focus on the worker is more than just a philosophical argument.