Content reviewed by:
Alex Shulman
If you were hurt during a restraint, patient assault, emergency medication event, exposure incident, fall, or violent episode, Shulman & Hill Injury Lawyers can help you pursue the benefits and compensation available under New York law.
Since 2013, our Greenburgh psychiatric hospital worker injury lawyers have represented injured workers across New York. We help RNs, LPNs, mental health technicians, orderlies, counselors, social workers, security staff, and support workers.
Contact Shulman & Hill today for a free consultation with a Greenburgh workers’ compensation lawyer.
What Makes Psychiatric Hospital Injury Claims Different
Psychiatric hospitals and behavioral health units are not ordinary healthcare settings. Staff may need to respond to patient aggression, self-harm attempts, elopement risks, emergency restraints, medication refusals, and sudden changes in patient behavior.
These claims often require proof beyond a basic injury report. We may need to review staffing levels, security response, restraint policies, video footage, prior warning signs, patient movement records, and witness statements.
Our Greenburgh personal injury lawyers also address barriers that are common after behavioral health injuries. A worker may be physically unable to lift, restrain, or respond to a crisis. A worker may also experience anxiety, panic, sleep disruption, or trauma symptoms after returning to the same unit.
Types of Cases Our Greenburgh Psychiatric Hospital Worker Injury Lawyers Handle
Shulman & Hill represents psychiatric hospital and behavioral health workers injured during direct care, emergency response, supervision, transport, intake, medication administration, and unit support duties.
We handle claims involving:
- Patient assaults.
- Failed or unsafe restraints.
- Bites and scratches.
- Needlestick injuries.
- Exposure to blood or bodily fluids.
- Falls in patient rooms, hallways, bathrooms, or parking areas.
- Injuries during patient transfers.
- Injuries during elopement response.
- Security incidents.
- Defective equipment.
- PTSD and other mental injury claims where medical proof supports the claim.
If a contractor, equipment company, property owner, driver, or other outside party contributed to the injury, we can review whether a third-party claim is available in addition to workers’ compensation.
Eligibility for New York Workers’ Compensation
Most hospital employees in New York can seek workers’ compensation when an injury or illness arises out of and during employment. You do not need to prove that your employer intended to harm you or that a patient was at fault.
To support the claim, the record should show:
- Where the incident happened.
- What job duty you were performing.
- Who was present.
- What patient behavior or hazard caused the injury.
- Which body parts were injured.
- When symptoms began.
- What treatment you received.
- Whether you missed work or returned with restrictions.
Mental injury claims require careful proof. Some claims involving PTSD, acute stress disorder, or major depressive disorder may require medical evidence tying the condition to extraordinary work-related stress from a distinct work event or events. Claims tied to a physical work injury may be handled differently.
What Benefits Could You Receive?
Workers’ compensation can pay for medical care connected to your job injury. This may include emergency care, imaging, specialist visits, physical therapy, medication, injections, surgery, counseling, and other approved treatment.
If you miss more than seven days of work or return at reduced earnings, wage benefits may also be available. The amount depends on your average weekly wage, disability level, and the statewide maximum for your injury date.
If your injury causes lasting loss of function, you may qualify for a Schedule Loss of Use award or other permanency benefits. We review the medical ratings, work restrictions, and wage records before any final award or settlement is considered.
What To Do After an Incident at Work
Report the incident to your supervisor as soon as you can. Ask that an incident report be completed, and keep a copy if your employer provides one.
Get medical care even if you think the symptoms may pass. Head injuries, back injuries, bite wounds, and trauma symptoms can worsen after the shift ends.
You should also:
- Tell each provider the injury happened at work.
- List every injured body part.
- Identify all witnesses.
- Save discharge papers and restrictions.
- Keep records of missed shifts.
- Avoid posting about the incident online.
- Contact a Greenburgh psychiatric hospital workers injury attorney before signing settlement papers.
If the incident involved a bite, needlestick, or bodily fluid exposure, request the proper testing and follow-up care right away.
Greenburgh Filing Deadlines and Notice Requirements
New York workers’ compensation claims have strict filing rules. You generally must notify your employer within 30 days of a work injury. Written notice is best.
You should also file Form C-3 with the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board. In most cases, that form must be filed within two years of the accident or within two years of when you knew, or should have known, that your condition was related to your job.
Psychological injury and occupational disease claims can involve timing questions that need close review. Shulman & Hill tracks the dates, files the required forms, and responds if the carrier tries to use timing as a defense.
Why Choose Shulman & Hill for Your Claim?
Shulman & Hill has recovered over $1 billion for injured clients and brings more than 200 years of combined experience to New York injury claims. We are not a high-volume firm built on rushed handling. We focus on the facts, the proof, and the strongest legal path available.
When we handle your claim, we can deal with the carrier, request hearings, prepare you for IMEs, review medical reports, challenge denied treatment, calculate wage benefits, evaluate permanency, and identify any claim against an outside party.
Talk to a Greenburgh Psychiatric Hospital Worker Injury Attorney at Shulman & Hill About Your Claim
Shulman & Hill can review your incident report, medical records, wage records, work restrictions, and benefit options. If the carrier denies the claim, cuts your checks, delays treatment, or sends you to an unfair IME, we can respond with evidence and pursue a hearing.
Contact us today for a free consultation with one of our psychiatric hospital worker injury attorneys in Greenburgh. New York, We Got You.