Injury at work... Do I have a potential compensation case?

spanish_inquisition

If you are a union member you could be covered for legal advice, this would be your starting place. Good luck aliabebedoll

elsien

There can be a culture of sweeping things under the carpet when it comes to challenging behaviour.
Does your induction cover a list of things that need to be covered on day 1, week1, month 1 etc?  Do you recall being shown behavioural support plans etc?
You would not normally have training in restraint because restraint cannot be done without very clear guidelines and with enough staff to be able to do it safely for all concerned. Otherwise you or she would end up with more injuries. The type of training you would nornally have is arouind de-escalation and break away techniques.
If this lady is known to have these issues and you were not given enough guidance then your organisation is at fault. That's where the proving it comes in, but if you weren't asked to sign to say you'd read and understand the risk assessment etc, again your organisation is at fault.
I do  think you should ensure that a safeguarding has been locked with the local authority as already mentioned. 

theoretica

I think carrying on despite personal risk is one of the marks of a carer - just as we are grateful to all the medics who carried on working despite PPE concerns.  I hope your old union can help you - or has good relationships with a more relevant one.

aliabebedoll

elsien said:

There can be a culture of sweeping things under the carpet when it comes to challenging behaviour.
Does your induction cover a list of things that need to be covered on day 1, week1, month 1 etc?  Do you recall being shown behavioural support plans etc?
You would not normally have training in restraint because restraint cannot be done without very clear guidelines and with enough staff to be able to do it safely for all concerned. Otherwise you or she would end up with more injuries. The type of training you would nornally have is arouind de-escalation and break away techniques.
If this lady is known to have these issues and you were not given enough guidance then your organisation is at fault. That's where the proving it comes in, but if you weren't asked to sign to say you'd read and understand the risk assessment etc, again your organisation is at fault.
I do  think you should ensure that a safeguarding has been locked with the local authority as already mentioned. 

Thank you. Induction forms covered the weeks and we had signed to say we had has tour of the building and we're told induction would be ongoing for 3 months, I'm currently finishing my second week there. I was shown care plans, including this resident. The resident in question had no pbs in place as yet as she is new. The only notes in the care plan were personal details and known triggers/medication and details re gouging, violence etc but no pbs in place as to how to manage the behaviours as yet. I did not sign anything to say I had read this, whereas I did with the other service users. We were 'quizzed' on all other service users but not the one in question. Not been taught de escalation techniques or break away techniques. The only knowledge I had was her name, personal details, and the fact she was prone to violence with carers, along with some of the triggers. The these were water on the floor, coke and the word no. None of these were applicable on the day as I tried to use other language so not to trigger her 

elsien

Her being new is not an excuse to not have anything in place.
Her previous place will have had information that could have been used during the transition. Poor planning if they were aware. 
Although sometimes a transition can trigger new behaviours that haven't been seen before, as part of the person communicating whatever is upsetting them. 

aliabebedoll

elsien said:

Her being new is not an excuse to not have anything in place.
Her previous place will have had information that could have been used during the transition. Poor planning. 

Her care plan was only a couple of A4 sides compared to the wealth of info we had on the other service users, like I said not sure if it's the way it is at the beginning. Never worked in the industrial before, so what may be seen as bad practice in the industry I was in for over 15 years, may not be here. Which is why I wanted to put it out there and ask. Thank you for your help 

aliabebedoll

theoretica said:

I think carrying on despite personal risk is one of the marks of a carer - just as we are grateful to all the medics who carried on working despite PPE concerns.  I hope your old union can help you - or has good relationships with a more relevant one.

Thank you. Just feel like it didn't need to get to that stage, wish my concerns would have been listened to. It sounds bad, but I can't help but think I was placed there because the rest of them couldn't be bothered to deal with her. 

jonnygee2

It sounds a lot like a failure on their part to me. Although the patient was new, there were indications she would be difficult. Moreover, and patient can become difficult or violent, there needs to be training and systems to react to these cases when they occur. Is the employer still stonewalling you? This is another issue on their part, perhaps even more serious. If someone reports sustaining injuries at work they really need to do something. 

It seems likely you have a strong case. But in the meantime, as always you should concentrate on trying to talk to the employer - send them another email explaining you were injured at work and requesting to talk to someone about this. Make it really clear (again if necessary) about the extent of the injuries and the concerns you raised. You need to keep trying to engage with them even if it's difficult. If it looks like you only made a half hearted attempt to engage with the employer before resorting to a compensation claim, that won't be good for you.

aliabebedoll

jonnygee2 said:

It sounds a lot like a failure on their part to me. Although the patient was new, there were indications she would be difficult. Moreover, and patient can become difficult or violent, there needs to be training and systems to react to these cases when they occur. Is the employer still stonewalling you? This is another issue on their part, perhaps even more serious. If someone reports sustaining injuries at work they really need to do something. 

It seems likely you have a strong case. But in the meantime, as always you should concentrate on trying to talk to the employer - send them another email explaining you were injured at work and requesting to talk to someone about this. Make it really clear (again if necessary) about the extent of the injuries and the concerns you raised. You need to keep trying to engage with them even if it's difficult. If it looks like you only made a half hearted attempt to engage with the employer before resorting to a compensation claim, that won't be good for you.

Yes, of course. Fully understand. First step is always trying to engage. I rang them to give them an update on my situation yesterday, my medication is also strong due to me being injured in a car crash 2 years ago, and this event exasperating the injuries, and I am unable to drive with the injury to my neck and also on the medication the Dr has prescribed me. I'm trying to gather all possible info so I can go to HR if need be as I have only been able to speak to Team Leaders so far, who are only interested in covering the shifts. I am aware changes etc can cause behavioural problems, but this resident has had them consistently throughout from what I read in her case notes etc. 

polgara

I think that you need to not go in first asking about claims on this forum as it tends to feel like all you want is money rather than to resolve issues.  Obviously if you already had a pre-existing condition any claim would look into that too.  Very unusual to have a diagnosis of PTSD so soon too.

However, on the employment front - you need to engage with your employer and to determine why this happened, how it can ensure that it doesn't happen again and how you can be supported to return to work in a safe, supported way.