Stay Safe At Work

Safety in Work: The Responsibility of Doctors and Nurses…

admin — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 11:09:03 +0000

Patient Safety is now one of the most important issues facing modern day hospitals, and the recent spurt of infections spreading though wards were a wake-up call for many institutions. Such a wake-up call led to provisions being put into place to counteract such infections. Medical Ethics come into play here, and the safety of patients should be dealt with through professional and ethical means. According to the Department of Health one in ten patients acquires a HAI, and those who do contract an infection stay in hospital nearly three times longer than ordinary patients, placing tremendous financial pressure on our already strapped-for-cash health services. One of the ways that medical staff such as doctors, nurses, and surgeons are ensuring safety is at its optimum is through using ethical provisions and procedures. One of these provisions is the need to prevent venous thromboembolism, which is a blood clot that forms in the veins. Such clots can be extremely dangerous, and is actually the most common cause of preventable hospital deaths. That’s right, most hospital deaths that could have been stopped are caused by venous thromboembolism. The reason why such clots are so dangerous is essentially because the veins return blood to the heart, and if a piece of a blood clot formed in a vein breaks off it can be transported to the right side of the heart, and from there into the lungs. However, surgical teams, as well as doctors and nurses are now using timelines and plans as a way to keep on top of such clots. Teams of doctors and surgeons are setting goals concerning how different patients should be treated for clots in the veins. By setting goals to treat such things as venous thromboembolism the recovery rate is much higher.

Accidents at Work

admin — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 13:03:12 +0000

Work place injuries lead to many personal injury cases being filed each year. Not all work place injuries are the same as they vary in the type of injury as well as the severity of the particular injury. These factors all contribute to the amount of pain that the employee would experience. While every accident is different, often the sort of injury is indicative of the line of work in which the person is employed. Certain injuries occur more in some professions than in others.

Perhaps the greatest cause of workplace injuries are improper and unsafe working conditions. Some employers strive to maintain safe environments for their employees. However, sadly, some do not. If an accident does occur, the employer is placed with the responsibility of making sure that this sort of accident cannot repeat itself. These usually require procedural changes or perhaps modifications to the workplace. Retraining workers in the new safety procedures is also part of this process. Keeping employer abreast of safety changes helps ensure future safety.

Granted, we all understand that certain professions are more apt to face certain dangers than others. However, employers still are responsible for making their workers safe. They are responsible for developing, executing and monitoring safety protocols.

The most common type of accident at work involve slipping and falling. These slips and falls may result in only bruises but can also cause broken bones or other medical complications. When such injuries occur at work, it is a good idea to consult a solicitor to be informed of your personal rights in these situations. Often times, what can begin as a simple injury can cause other complications in the future. Protecting your rights can help if this should happen.

Your employer has some responsibilities when you become injured. They must pay for any medical expenses you have due to the accident. Usually employers do require you to follow certain procedure when making these claims. Usually a doctor is designated for all work injuries for a certain employer and all claims must go through this doctor.

Injured In The Workplace…

admin — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:26:04 +0000

Workplace injuries are also termed as occupational accidents or occupational diseases. An accident at work would normally occur due to poor safe practices, less safety awareness and non compliance to safety norms. Occupational diseases are the result of the continuous exposure to pollutants at the workplace. Workplace injuries may turn sometimes fatal where as the occupational illness are generally chronic. Accidents at work and illness rate can be reduced significantly by adapting to safe practices, religious compliance to safety regulations and on the job training. Workers often get injured while using a new equipment or tool where he necessarily requires some skill. Now a day many safety management systems and environment management systems are in place which if complied ensures a better and safer work place. Work place area is divided into zones according to the pollutant type and their exposure limit. Workers are guided not to spend more than specified time duration in a day in a particular zone. The time duration depends on the threshold limit value of the pollutant.

Types of Personal Injury

admin — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 17:39:12 +0000

Any physical or psychological injury of a person by an accident or medical malpractice is known as personal injury. Severe injury can result in a death. A person can be injured by many ways, but the most common types are as follows:

Types of Physical Injury

A road accident
An accident at the work place, home, or on holiday
Defective product accidents
Medical and Dental accidents

You can further classify the above mentioned types of personal injuries. An injury at work can be caused by stress, harassment, or discrimination in the workplace. This injury comes under the category of psychological illness.

When someone receives incorrect treatment or vaccination in a hospital, the injury or damage is characterised as medical injury.
Medical and dental accidents are due to negligence and have many claims every year. These medical and dental accidents are known as industrial diseases. Among these industrial diseases, chest diseases are very common.

If an injury occurs and someone dies, you have several options including:

Make a complaint against the person or organization you think was responsible. You can make this complaint to a government department, a local authority, your employer, or the police.
To make a compensation claim to cover losses
To contact an organization which would give advice or assistance

Action to be taken

An injured person has actions which he must perform. These include:-

Firstly, call the policed if you have a road accident
Secondly, if a police officer is responsible for the injury then take the advice of the Citizens Advice Bureau.
Thirdly, report the accident immediately to the insurance company, otherwise you will lose the insurance compensation.
Fourthly, inform your employer if the personal injury occurred while you were working. Subsequently, your employer is then responsible to report the matter to the concerned department.

What is Medical Negligence?

admin — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 17:38:24 +0000

Medical negligence refers to damage caused to a patient by the lack of knowledge, or improper actions, of a doctor. Basically this means that the patient did not receive the correct treatment from the doctor. In order to prove that you have been a victim of medical negligence, you have to provide evidence that you were not given the kind of treatment from a certain doctor, that you would have received if some other doctor would have been in his/her place. Furthermore, you also need to prove that your health has worsened as a result of the misguided and irresponsible action of the doctor.

To file a medical negligence case, you need to hire a lawyer. Once a case has been filed, the doctor will be called in to give testimony and explain his/her actions, and your lawyer will involve other doctors as well who will explain how the actions have made the patient’s health worse.

In a lot of cases where the negligence is easy to prove, hospitals or doctors choose to settle them out of court. This means that they provide a lump sum of money to the patient so that they can drop the case against them. The lawyer in such cases advises you as to whether the money being offered is a good enough offer for you to drop your case against the doctor or not.

If a doctor is proved to be negligent, their insurance premium shoots up; in cases where the negligence caused death or results in a recurrent problem with the patient, the medical board takes the license off the doctor, thus forcing them to quit practicing medicine. This is why it is important to make sure that you are not filing a case simply for financial gain, but because you truly believe there was negligent behaviour involved in your treatment, leaving you no other option than to approach the relevant authorities.

Medical negligence cases give the patient the power to speak if they feel they have been wronged, and it is extremely important that this voice is not misused just for personal gain.

Personal Injury – Whiplash Claim

admin — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 01:51:44 +0000

Whiplash is a neck injury most commonly caused during traffic accidents. Whiplash claims can be filed in the case where you have been the victim of an accident, and thus suffer from this injury. This claim, if successful, pays for your medical treatment, lost salary, and legal costs.

Whiplash is damage to the neck and its muscles as a result of sudden shaking of the head back and forth in a very short space of time. This injury gets worse depending on how hard the head shook, and also depends on the age of the victim. It can either take several days to be cured, or in some cases it can even turn out into a permanent disability. The amount of compensation you can claim depends on the severity of the injury you suffer from.

If after an accident you suffer from stiffness or pain in the neck, legs, and shoulders followed by headaches or dizziness, you are likely to be suffering from whiplash. Ignoring this and letting the statute of limitations expire will make you ineligible of filing any personal injury claim later on. Usually, claims have to be filed within three years of the accident.

The first thing you need to do after seeking treatment is to hire a lawyer. While most of these cases do not go to court, it is important to have a lawyer for advice and doing all the necessary paper work. Your lawyer will most probably work on a “No Win No Fee” agreement basis where you do not have to pay the fees unless you win. This is usually a claim where it is a part of the settlement with the other driver’s insurance company. Your lawyer will file a claim for you seeking payment for your medical bills, or other bills including lost salary, and legal fees charges.

Usually these cases are very simple, and as long as you are not the one at fault, the other driver’s insurance company will settle on an agreement with you as quickly as possible.

How to Win A Work Accident Case

admin — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 17:36:16 +0000

While work-related accidents can happen in any profession, they are most common in factories where heavy items or heavy machinery is being used. This is why it is important for businesses to follow health and safety standards set by the authorities. These are legal requirements that have to be fulfilled. If an employee gets injured while at work, they have the right to have their costs of treatment compensated by their employers.

As an employee, you need to make sure that you know the health and safety standards, and that you follow those standards so that an accident does not happen due to your negligence. Even if you don’t work in a factory but instead you work in an office, you have a right to receive payment for injuries caused to you at work.

Make sure that if you become injured, you collect all necessary information and evidence so that you can put together a strong case for yourself. Note down times and take photographs if possible. Get yourself an experienced lawyer who has been involved in this kind of a case before so that you can be assured of winning the case.

Obtain information about any previous accidents that have taken place in your office or workplace, and also inquire about the compensation the injured party received from your employer. This will help you build your own case as well. If you lose out on work hours and salary due to an accident that was caused at work, you have a right to be compensated regardless of what your employer may tell you. Make sure you talk to your lawyer about any questions you might be asked during the proceedings.

Finally, don’t refrain from speaking up about your injuries and losses for the fear of being punished or threatened. As an employee you have some rights, and you should make sure you receive fair compensation.

How To File A Health Insurance Claim

admin — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 17:33:01 +0000

Due to the increase in the costs of health care it is becoming increasingly important to file all health insurance claims in a timely manner so as to ensure payments as fast as possible. Here are some tips to get you on the right track.

The best idea is to let your doctor’s office file a claim for you. Most doctors are used to this and know the process better than you, as they deal with it more often. If you are filing the claim yourself, make sure you provide all the necessary information and do not miss out on something important. Leaving out any important information may result in a delay of your payments.

File the health insurance claim as soon as possible. The sooner you file it, the faster it will be processed. If you have multiple claims, do not wait for one to get processed before filing the next, instead file all your claims as soon as they occur to you. File each claim as soon as possible, even if they end up overlapping.

If you are under group coverage, you should discuss the claim you are making with your group coverage representative to get the best advice regarding it. If your claim encounters a problem, follow up on it as soon as possible and preferably in writing rather than a phone call, since this is a physical proof of your grievance.

Do not lie about anything when filing your claim because if the truth comes out you could lose either the claim or your entire insurance policy when it comes up for renewal. Finally, don’t get too worried about the process as it takes time, and as long as you have given all the correct information you will eventually get the money of your claim.

Compensation for Work Accidents

admin — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:32:16 +0000

Annually, hundreds of people get injured in the workplace. This is usually more common in industrial and factory related jobs. However, this may also happen in offices as well. As an employee, you need to be aware of your rights and conscious of the steps you should take if ever you get injured at work.

The first thing to do after getting injured is to file an accident report. The report should be recorded in some ledger, and all the important information related to the accident should be preserved in it for future reference. After this, you must make sure that you get evidence concerning the accident, and then explain it completely to your lawyer so that he can advise you as to whether the case needs to go to the court or be settled otherwise. Furthermore, take pictures, note down times, and keep complete documentation of the whole incident with you so that you don’t miss out anything important.

Once you have had your injuries treated, you should ask your employer to have you compensated for the medical expenses, as well as any salary lost while you were recovering. If they refuse, you should hire a lawyer. Be sure you get a lawyer who has experience in work accident related cases so that they can handle your claim more efficiently and also guide you properly. Give the lawyer all the evidence, and even go to your office to find out about any previous accidents that have happened there. And also inquire about the settlements that other employees have received for these accidents. All of this will help develop your case.

If your employers threaten you, even then do not stop your proceedings. It is your right to seek compensation for the injury encountered by you because of someone else’s fault, and so you should keep the proceedings going. Do not get scared by the threats of your employers. Once you go to the court you must be fully prepared to give your evidence and fight for your compensation.