Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are a type of bacteria that are often resistant to the antibiotic methicillin, as well as other types of antibiotics. Workers who frequently become exposed to MRSA include hospital workers, people who work in correctional facilities, day care facility workers, and vets. If you discover you have MSRA and you need to take time off work to recover, you might be entitled to file a claim for workers’ compensation from your employer. Additionally, it might be prudent to consider consulting a workers' compensation attorney because he or she would have the best sense of what options you have available. Symptoms of MRSA The highest chance of being infected with MSRA is following an injury that exposes you to MSRA. This could lead to infected open wounds. In these cases an employer will not want you to go to work until you have recovered from the condition. Most MSRA infections start as inconspicuous red lumps on the skin that mimic the appearance of an insect bite or acne. With little notice and great speed, the bumps can become painful, deep wounds that need urgent medical attention. Once the germ invades your body, it is able to spread to your joints, bones, blood, and important organs like the heart and lungs. High Numbers of Workplace Injuries Are Due To MRSA Many people, especially those in the health care industry (such as nurses), develop MSRA and have to take time off to recover. If you have been injured and this leads to MSRA, in most states you should be entitled to workers’ compensation provided by your employer. However, MSRA isn’t easy to recognize and getting workers’ compensation means you have to provide evidence that the MSRA was due to something that happened in the workplace, such as not prioritizing hygienic conditions. Your employer's insurance company may put up an argument that the MSRA you have caught was not work related. How MRSA Affects Employment and Compensation What you may receive from workers’ compensation is the full cost of medical treatment and two thirds of your normal salary. MRSA could result in: Temporary Total Disability: this is when you are unable to work temporarily, which is a possibility when you are inflicted with MRSA. It can make you unable to perform normal tasks if you are suffering from headaches and dizziness. Permanent Total Disability: this is when you can never return to work. Fortunately, this unlikely to take place if you are infected with MRSA because treatment is available to help you return to a normal life. Temporary Partial Disability: this is possible if you are infected with MRSA and are limited in what you can do while recovering from the infection. Permanent Partial Disability: this could be possible with MRSA. You can return to work but are permanently disabled by the disease. Despite the fact that there is treatment, it often leaves victims tired and weak. This can make the ability to keep up a long term full-term job quite difficult. You Will Need To Provide Evidence to Prove Your Injury Once you have been diagnosed with MRSA, you should try to put together some evidence to prove that your workplace has something to do with your infection. This could include evidence showing that your workplace didn’t take sufficient precautions to protect workers from being exposed to MRSA or that nothing was done despite knowing there was a high possibility of contracting the infection. Most occupations that involve the handling of animals or humans are required to provide suitable protective clothing to minimize the chance of acquiring MRSA. You should try to remember to keep a record of how the accident happened that turned into you receiving a serious injury. Take down the names of any witnesses who might be prepared to vouch for how the work accident took place. You will be asked to provide all the proof you have before you get your workers’ comp claim accepted. You May Need To Hire an Attorney If you have never experienced an infection like MRSA before and you believe it was a result of inaction in your workplace and you know you can’t return to work, you may need to hire an experienced workers’ comp attorney. Your attorney will check your situation and help to ensure you get the workers’ comp you deserve. Moreover, your attorney will do this without you needing to pay them unless he or she wins your case.
