For the average person, the phrase “nursing home injuries” likely evokes an image of things like an elderly person falling in a nursing home. It is true that this type of thing can happen at nursing homes.
However, there is another type of injury, and that is when nursing home residents injure nurses’ aides or other nursing home staff; for example, biting, hitting or choking them. What is a normal reaction if you are one of these injured workers?
It is common to feel a lack of support from your employer
First, know that you are not alone if your employer does not take the injury seriously. Perhaps there is a wrongheaded mentality that personnel just need to suck up their injuries or that the injuries do not really count because these are stressed and frustrated senior citizens, some of whom suffer from dementia.
Of course these injuries count! Someone with dementia can be tall and brawny and all the more dangerous for it. A slight and frail-looking woman can, when feeling confused or angry, hit someone hard.
It is also not uncommon to feel to feel ashamed
Another thing: If you feel ashamed about what happened, that is fairly commonplace too. However, it is important for you to not let such feelings stop you from standing up for your best interests after such an incident. You, just like other workers, deserve a safe work environment and generally have the right to pursue appropriate compensation when workplace injuries strike.
The injuries need to reported
You may feel sorry for the residents at a nursing home, especially those who do not get visitors and who cannot quite grasp why they are in a nursing home. Still, you need to report any injuries you suffer on the job.
For example, dangerous residents might do better at another home, or the person in charge needs to be aware of the injuries so he or she can draw up a better plan of care. Plus, you need to report injuries in a timely manner for your own sake. You may need time off work and even medical treatment to recover; you deserve to get what you are entitled to. This goes for injuries you suffer via lifting and other parts of the job as well.