A study that has been published in Occupational and Environmental Medicine indicates that nursing home workers who are injured at work are more likely to lose their job. Although researchers were not able to determine exactly why this trend is occurring, they found that people were twice as likely to be fired in the six months following an injury as those who were not harmed.
Researchers also found that nursing home workers who were hurt several times were far more likely to quit their jobs compared to those who were not harmed. Data indicates that people are most likely to suffer a workplace injury in the first six months of employment, likely because they are adjusting to a new environment.
As a result of people’s increased likelihood of quitting if they are hurt several times, they are also likely to move on to another job and suffer repeated injuries in the first few months of employment. Data was obtained by looking at the results of a study done by the Work, Family and Health Network that included workers from 30 nursing homes throughout New England.
Federal and state workplace safety regulations are in place and are applicable to most Texas employers. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is empowered to assess fines and penalties on companies that are found to be in violation of these regulations. Many Texas companies do not have workers’ compensation insurance, and thus a person who is an employee of such a company and who is injured in a workplace accident may want to meet with an attorney in order to learn the legal options that may be available for seeking compensation.