Florida Injury Lawyer Blog
Private care jobs offer essential services to individuals in need, ranging from elderly care to childcare and beyond. While these professions are centered around compassion, they also expose employees to on-the-job injuries.
The father-son attorney team at the family-based law firm of Flaxman Law Group work closely with workers who are injured on the job. So far, we’ve helped recover over $100 million on behalf of individuals who have been injured across South Florida. If you’re injured on the job, don’t hesitate to call us to claim your free accident consultation with a Hollywood workers’ compensation lawyer.
The Demands of Private Care Jobs
Private care jobs involve providing assistance to individuals in their homes. Whether caring for elderly patients, individuals with disabilities, or children, private caregivers engage in physically demanding tasks, from lifting and transferring to bathing and administering medication. These tasks can cause potential injuries, including:
- Muscle Strains and Sprains: Lifting and assisting people with mobility challenges can lead to muscle strains and sprains.
- Back Injuries: The repetitive nature of caregiving can contribute to chronic back pain and other severe back injuries.
- Slips and Falls: Navigating unfamiliar environments and managing various tasks within a client’s home can increase the risk of slips and falls. Falls themselves can cause many serious injuries, from head trauma to broken bones and other injuries.
- Infections and Illnesses: Exposure to illnesses and infections is heightened in private care jobs, where workers come into contact with many clients.
- Emotional and Mental Strain: The emotional toll of caring for vulnerable individuals can lead to stress-related conditions, including anxiety and burnout.
- Violence: There is no security in most patients’ homes, making violence and assault a risk for workers.
Workers’ Compensation and Personal Care Jobs
Florida’s workers’ compensation laws cover private care workers and employees in any other field who are diagnosed with an occupational illness or work injury. In the event a worker is injured on the job, workers’ compensation benefits can replace some lost income, cover medical costs, and offer additional benefits.
However, personal care workers can face challenges in getting their rightful compensation. Some of these issues are as follows:
- These workers may be misclassified as contractors, which can make it harder to get benefits.
- Injuries tend to happen in the homes of patients, which means there may be no witnesses to an injury.
- Injuries can happen gradually over time, making it harder to establish a link between the injury and the work duties.
- It can be challenging for workers to prove that their injury happened during work and not when the employee was taking a break, for example.
Getting Your Rightful Workers’ Comp Benefits in Florida
It’s important for personal care workers to get the full benefits they’re entitled to. The time lost at work and the medical bills of a work injury can have a significant impact on a worker’s finances, and they deserve the help Florida workers’ compensation laws provide.
Since personal care workers can face some barriers in getting their benefits, it can be useful to speak to w workers’ compensation lawyer in Florida. If you’ve been injured, we invite you to reach out to Flaxman Law Group. We’re a family-based law firm and we’ve recovered over $100 million for our clients so far. We’re also pleased to offer a free accident consultation that comes with no obligation to you. It gives you chance to find out whether you have a workers’ compensation claim or third-party claim that allows you to seek compensation for your injuries. Call us any time, 24/7, at 866-352-9626 to speak to a live person and to schedule a free, no obligation consultation with a workers’ comp claims attorney in our Miami, Homestead, or Hollywood offices.