Workers’ Compensation Survey

Submitted by ADonahue on

Please take a few minutes to fill out this survey. The purpose of this survey is to better understand nurses’ experiences with obtaining support and benefits for common work-related injuries and illnesses, in particular nurses’ experiences with the workers’ compensation system. Your personal information will be kept confidential and will not be shared in survey results.

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Workers' compensation is a form of insurance that provides medical benefits and wage replacement to an employee who is injured in the course of employment, regardless of whether the employee was at fault. For a few select professions, some workers do not have to prove that certain diseases and injuries were a result of their employment when they file a workers' compensation claim: These are called workers' compensation presumptions. Presumptions are a way to streamline treatment for workers by reducing the burden of proof that their injury or illness was caused by the nature of their employment.

However, only certain types of frontline professionals are currently eligible for workers' compensation presumptions. These include professions such as EMTs, paramedics, firefighters, and police officers, who are provided workers’ compensation presumptions for infectious diseases, respiratory conditions (including Covid-19), and cancer.

Meanwhile, frontline workers in health care settings, such as nurses, are not entitled to any permanent workers' compensation presumptions. This is despite the fact that nurses treat the same patients and face similar hazards in hospitals as public safety officers in the field.

Workers' compensation presumptions should be available for all frontline professions who are at risk of the same illnesses and injuries due to the nature of their work, not just for male-dominated public service officers.

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