Beware of hand-cranks on hospital beds.....sad.

Nurses General Nursing

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Last night I was working agency at a local SNF on the rehab unit, when I heard a horrible scream. Several staff & myself ran to the directon of the scream, thinking it was a patient; it was a nurse..she was standing holding her hands over her face, blood everywhere. Apparently, she was cranking the pt's bed and I guess it was torqued as far as it could be tightened, and for some unknown reason (defective ?) the hand-crank & apparatus flew off & hit her between the eyes/nose area. We called 911 and she was taken to the local hospital. She called later and said that her nose was broken in 3 places & that since she was so swollen, she would have to wait a week to have surgery.

Isn't that horrible that a simple hand-crank, could fly off like that & do so much damage. I think of all the times I have had to crank beds that are non-electric. So scary and sad for that poor nurse. She could have easily lost an eye.

Lizzie

I spoke to one my friends today who works on that unit, & she said the nurse that got hurt yesterday evening will have to take sick leave per the DON, no workman's comp.

I hope that's just a rumor because I believe that's illegal. She got hurt on the job, they should have worker's comp ins, even if they don't want her to use it. If they give her problems she should sue.

Konni...no, it wasn't a rumor. The nurse that got hurt was told this by the DON. Yep...sure is illegal, but this DON thinks this quiet/meek nurse will do as told, however, she has a lot of friends who are pushing her/advising her to call a worker's comp attorney, ASAP. This poor nurse is more "worried" about not having a job since she is single & afraid she won't be able to pay her bills, mortgage etc... I feel for her, when she should be calming herself for her upcoming surgery next week & let a good attorney handle her "stress" and her bills. ;)

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I feel for her, surely, she knows that the nature of the injury will be documented and submitted for payment from her private insurance co., and we all know, a private insurance co. isn't going to pay for an injury that happened on the job and should be filed with workmans comp. As far as losing her job, I don't think that legally the DON could get away with firing her. What do you think?

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I feel for her, surely, she knows that the nature of the injury will be documented and submitted for payment from her private insurance co., and we all know, a private insurance co. isn't going to pay for an injury that happened on the job and should be filed with workmans comp. As far as losing her job, I don't think that legally the DON could get away with firing her. What do you think?

Exactly correct. Nah, I think that the DON THINKS that she can fire someone because she feels she has "power", but she is a heartless bully, who has no clue what she is doing. She'll find out by the employee's attorney...lol!

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Specializes in Case Mgmt; Mat/Child, Critical Care.

This is the kind of thing that just burns me up!:angryfire And why in the world would this nurse even think about not filing wokmen's comp??? That is ludicrous! In fact, I would be at an attorney's so fast handing a big fat lawsuit on a platter to that SNF and telling that DON, that she will be lucky to work as a nurse again after that pile of cr*p she's trying to pass out!

Doesn't this make you mad as h*ll?! This is why nurses can not be kept at the bedside, b/c of this kind of garbage!:angryfire

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Specializes in Trauma ICU, MICU/SICU.

I spoke to one my friends today who works on that unit, & she said the nurse that got hurt yesterday evening will have to take sick leave per the DON, no workman's comp. I think they are trying to save money & don't think this nurse will file a law suit since she is very quiet/meek. I hope she called a lawyer today, because that darn bed is so old, that the tension on that crank was bound to break eventually. Sheeesh! This is the same place that NEVER has enough chuck pads for the patients, let alone hand towels! GRRRRRRRR!

Lizzie

You can and should report it to OSHA. Especially, if you think she won't. In addition, department of labor might be interested in these practices. ARe you a union shop? Please if she won't do something for herself, report it. This is staff abuse.

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Specializes in Med onc, med, surg, now in ICU!.
I spoke to one my friends today who works on that unit, & she said the nurse that got hurt yesterday evening will have to take sick leave per the DON, no workman's comp. I think they are trying to save money & don't think this nurse will file a law suit since she is very quiet/meek. I hope she called a lawyer today, because that darn bed is so old, that the tension on that crank was bound to break eventually.

Lizzie

Has she spoken to her union rep? I am not up on US labour laws (see? I eben spelled it with a u), but that would never be allowed to happen here in Australia. She would be covered by worker's comp from the minute the injury occurred. She was hurt at work, ergo, worker's comp. Our unions would be on that like flies on .... you know the rest.

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Specializes in Med onc, med, surg, now in ICU!.
I spoke to one my friends today who works on that unit, & she said the nurse that got hurt yesterday evening will have to take sick leave per the DON, no workman's comp. I think they are trying to save money & don't think this nurse will file a law suit since she is very quiet/meek. I hope she called a lawyer today, because that darn bed is so old, that the tension on that crank was bound to break eventually.

Lizzie

Has she spoken to her union rep? I am not up on US labour laws (see? I even spelled it with a u), but that would never be allowed to happen here in Australia. She would be covered by worker's comp from the minute the injury occurred. She was hurt at work, ergo, worker's comp. Our unions would be on that like flies on .... you know the rest.

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Specializes in Psych.
I hear ya Jim! Myself & fellow nursing friends totally agree with you. This DON who according to my nursing friend who works there f/t, states this woman makes/creates her "own" set of rules & threatens/bullies various staff employees who are afraid of her. She knows who she can intimidate. However, the nurse that got hurt has the support of her fellow co-workers & yessssssss...they are telling her to seek a worker's comp attorney asap! The DON called the injured nurse at home & told her that if she is not back within 2 weeks from her surgery date she "most likely" will not have a job!!!! Can you believe this woman....she must be nuts!!!! This poor nurse can't even have surgery for at least a week...due to the swelling. Anyhow, maybe this nurse will grow a backbone from this result of this unfortunate accident & as you said...contact a worker's comp attorney and when she is cleared to return to work....resign on the spot!!!

Good for you-all supporting your co-worker like that. :)

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This is the kind of thing that just burns me up!:angryfire And why in the world would this nurse even think about not filing wokmen's comp??? That is ludicrous! In fact, I would be at an attorney's so fast handing a big fat lawsuit on a platter to that SNF and telling that DON, that she will be lucky to work as a nurse again after that pile of cr*p she's trying to pass out!

Doesn't this make you mad as h*ll?! This is why nurses can not be kept at the bedside, b/c of this kind of garbage!:angryfire

Moondancer, I feel EXACTLY as you do. Myself & the others who work there, (I only do agency there) feel the same as you do. My first thought when my friend called me the next day after the accident/incident & told me that this nurse was literally listening/complying to all the BS that this DON was feeding her...just made me sick. That is why the nurses/aides...have been calling her to make sure SHE DOES get an attorney. The nurse that got injured is probably mid 40's, very quiet, goes about her own business, single & basically stays at home with her two cats, rarely goes out....she is a bit of a recluse. Anyway, my guess is that this new DON figures she can get over someone who is too afraid to answer back to her by threatening her with her job!! Grrrrrrrrrrr! There has been so much crap that this DON has stirred up, that people have left & looked for jobs elsewhere. My guess she will have her butt fired for false information, aggravation, bullying/threatening comments to this nurse...providing she obtains an attorney. I know if if was me, I would go after her not just for myself, but for the welfare of others too.

Also, someone asked if they were union...the answer is no. There is no union.

And you are right Moondancer...this is why nurses cannot be kept at the bedside due to garbage like this!! It makes me angry & it also makes me sad, that you would think that a person like this works in healthcare!! :angryfire

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Good for you-all supporting your co-worker like that. :)

Thanks Kadokin. My cousin gave me a few names of workman's comp attorneys. She is a court reporter & does depositions, knows LOTS of them! I relayed the attorney's name/numbers to my friend who works on her unit. They are pulling for her!

Lizzie

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You can and should report it to OSHA. Especially, if you think she won't. In addition, department of labor might be interested in these practices. ARe you a union shop? Please if she won't do something for herself, report it. This is staff abuse.

Yes, my girlfriend who works on the unit did call OSHA privately. The State was also called.

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This person has every right to workmans comp.....The DON's have no input in this what-so ever. This person got hurt on the job. If she is off longer than a week, they have to pay a portion of her gross. To be fair of her future wages she could have earned, they will track back to a certain period and go by her highest wage.

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