Care And Nursing Home PPE Equipment Compensation Claims – Lack Of Coronavirus PPE Equipment Claims Guide
Care Home Nurse Covid-19 Caused By A Lack Of Personal Protective Equipment Claims
In this online guide, we take a look at the kind of personal protective equipment that nursing home staff should use, and how to make a claim if you come down with COVID-19 due to not being provided with it. We will cover the general guidelines related to PPE that nursing home staff should follow, and show how in some cases when your employer does not provide adequate safety measures, you could be in a position to make a compensation claim if you suffer because of it.
If you have general questions about the claims process or specific questions about your own case, then we can help you. Our claims team is available 24/7 to provide you with the answers and other assistance that you need. You can contact them on 0800 073 8804. They can also explain how we can provide you with a personal injury solicitor that is experienced in processing personal injury claims.
Select A Section:
- A Guide To Coronavirus Personal Protective Equipment Claims By Nursing Home Staff
- What Is Covid-19?
- Steps Care Home Operators Could Take To Protect Staff And Residents
- PPE Guidelines Issued By Public Health England
- When Care Home Staff Should Wear PPE
- Covid-19 Personal Protective Equipment For Nursing Home Staff
- Guidelines For The Safe Usage Of PPE By Nursing Home Staff
- I Work In A Care Home, Could I Get A Coronavirus Test?
- Could I Claim If My Employer Did Not Provide Me With PPE?
- Care Home Staff Coronavirus PPE Compensation Claims Calculator
- Special Damages Care Home Staff Could Claim
- No Win No Fee Covid-19 Claims By Nursing Home Staff For A Lack Of PPE
- Start Your Nursing Home Staff Coronavirus Claim
- Coronavirus Resources
A Guide To Coronavirus Personal Protective Equipment Claims By Nursing Home Staff
Care and nursing home PPE equipment claims guide
This online guide is intended to show you why you have the right to expect to be provided with specific care home coronavirus personal protective equipment of a good standard, and how if you are not, you could be able to make a personal injury claim if you catch coronavirus. Every nursing home operator, including the NHS, has to provide PPE for care home staff as a legal obligation. We start this guide with a general introduction to what coronavirus is, and how the pandemic affects care home staff.
The next part of this guide is given over to providing information about PPE safety, usage, and requirements of care home staff. This will help you to understand whether your employer has fulfilled all of their safety obligations to you. We look at the general steps care home operators should take to ensure safety and the general PPE guidelines in the UK. We explain when care home staff are supposed to wear PPE, and the kind of PPE they should use. We cover how to use PPE safely, and whether you are entitled to be tested for coronavirus or not.
The last part of this guide is related to the claims process itself, and the financial considerations of making a claim. We look at whether you could be eligible to make a claim in the first place. We then provide a basic example table of compensation ranges and a list of the common kinds of damages that are often claimed for. Lastly, we go over No Win No Fee claims and explain why, in some cases, this kind of legal service could be the best way to proceed with a claim.
You will need to be within the personal injury claims time limit to be able to make a claim. Our claims team can tell you what this will be if you give them a call on the number at the beginning or end of the page. At this time, one of our expert advisors will be able to evaluate your claim for you, tell you what your legal options are, and provide you with some free legal advice on what your next step should be.
What Is Covid-19?
At the end of 2019, in the Wuhan province in China, a small number of people who had been working in a wet market developed a new mutation of coronavirus. This is the collective name for a number of associated viruses. Some of which are relatively harmless, while others such as MERS and SARS can be deadly. Within a few short months, this new illness, which came to be known as COVID-19 had spread around the globe. International travel stopped and most counties came to a standstill as their government implemented various levels of safety precautions.
COVID-19 is an illness that in extreme cases, can cause severe respiratory symptoms and death. At the time this guide was written, there were just over 18 million confirmed cases, which had resulted in almost 700,000 deaths. For some time, the UK was one of the most seriously hit countries, with up to 800 people dying every day. During this time, key staff, which included care home workers, had to keep working whilst taking safety precautions, including wearing PPE. Despite this, many of them still became ill.
This guide is aimed at care home workers that have caught coronavirus while at work. In some cases, where the employer was clearly to blame for not providing the proper PPE, a compensation claim might be possible. For more information on how to proceed with a claim, please call our team today. They are available 24 hours a day to assist you.
Steps Care Home Operators Could Take To Protect Staff And Residents
The general public in the UK has been advised to rely heavily on a facemask and hand sanitizer to keep them safe during the pandemic. But of course, this is insufficient protection for people working with the infected.
The UK Government has provided some guidance on the steps that care homes should take in order to protect both staff and residents, and these include:
- Undertaking a review of all residents, making notes of the level of support they need, and to consider making this information shareable electronically for use by external agencies.
- Working with the local authority, put together a plan for bi-directional assistance. This would need to cover plans for keeping the business operating, and for ensuring an adequate workforce is available for the duration of the pandemic. This could include a volunteer workforce if this is deemed safe.
- Take on board the recommendations and examples of how the local authority and the NHS are implementing best practices to ensure vulnerable staff self-isolate. Consideration should also be given to arranging for workers and volunteers to receive practical help and emotional support in dealing with their increased and more stressful workload.
Furthermore, each care home should ensure its staff are trained in keeping themselves and residents safe from infection. There are a number of different guidelines for providing this training, such as the ones that have been produced by the Queens Nursing Institute (QNI).
Part of this training is learning when to use PPE, what PPE to use, and how to use it safely, which we will cover later in this guide. If you believe your employer has failed in their legal duties to keep you safe during the pandemic, please speak to our claims team. They will be able to tell you whether your claim is potentially valid.
PPE Guidelines Issued By Public Health England
Building on the previous section, we outlined the general guidelines that care homes have to follow, and how to use PPE properly. There is some additional information that relates to how NHS staff should be managed during the crisis, and this covers:
- How staff who have symptoms or are infected must be handled.
- Details on when NHS staff should be tested for COVID-19.
- Information about the availability of temporary hotel accommodation for NHS staff.
- Full guidelines on the usage of standard required PPE including a surgical mask, a plastic apron and gloves.
- Further advice on how to use PPE safely in relation to uniforms, hair (including facial hair), and the lifespan of PPE.
Please note, although these guidelines were written for NHS staff to follow, they do not solely apply to NHS care home staff. All care homes are required to follow the guidelines that are applicable to their operation that the NHS has laid out. If you think your employer didn’t meet these guidelines and you became ill, we might be able to help you make a claim. Speak to one of our advisors to find out how.
When Care Home Staff Should Wear PPE
The UK Government has produced comprehensive guides offering help and advice for using PPE in care homes. If you are a care home nurse, COVID-19 PPE is a requirement, and it should be used at all times when care is being given to a resident within 2 metres. Additionally, this same PPE must be supplied to people who are visiting residents in a care home. In general, these guidelines say:
- You must use PPE regardless of whether the patient has symptoms.
- Patients who are deemed to be extremely vulnerable, such as those with existing breathing issues, should be shielded.
- You must use PPE within two metres of anyone who is coughing. Even if you are currently not providing care to them.
- Whenever you are caring for a patient with challenging behaviour you must wear full PPE at all times, even if this makes dealing with the patient more difficult.
The key takeaway here is that whenever a care worker is within 2 metres of a resident, they need to be wearing full PPE with no exceptions. We can help care home residents to make a claim if they have been infected by a member of their care team. Speak to our claims advisers to learn more about this.
Covid-19 Personal Protective Equipment For Nursing Home Staff
Part of the responsibility of a care home during the COVID-19 pandemic is to ensure that all nursing home staff follow the correct PPE guidelines. The recommended PPE that the Government has advised care workers to use consists of:
- A single-use disposable apron.
- Single-use disposable gloves.
- A fluid resistance face mask (although a full FFP3 respirator would be preferable).
- Single-use, disposable eye protection.
Any care home that does not provide its staff with this minimum level of PPE is failing in their legal duty to keep employees safe. If an employee becomes ill because of this, the care home might be liable. Our claims team will explain how you could make a claim in such circumstances.
Guidelines For The Safe Usage Of PPE By Nursing Home Staff
When it comes to working safely in care homes, care home staff are urged to follow the best practices for using PPE properly. Staff need to keep in mind that all PPE has an effective lifespan that can be affected by heat, humidity and stress. Furthermore, staff need to know how to put on and take off the PPE property.
- When putting on PPE, the mask should go on first, then the apron, followed by eye protection and finally the gloves.
- When taking off PPE, the gloves should be removed first, and then the hands should be sanitised. Next, remove the eye protection and the apron, leaving the mask until last. Once again, sanitise the hands.
Your employer should make you aware of this process, and also provide adequate training so that you know how to use the PPE you have been provided with safely. If they don’t and you get ill because of this, we could be able to help you to claim against your employer. Speak to an advisor for more information.
I Work In A Care Home, Could I Get A Coronavirus Test?
For people who have to work in a care home while the SARS-CoV2 is still in effect, there are some guidelines on how to deal with staff infections and testing These are:
- Care home staff that suspect they have contracted the illness should self-isolate at home. They should be tested for infection within 3 days. If the test is negative, they can return to work.
- The care home can ask for any member of staff to be tested at any time if they suspect exposure.
- Any medical professional, including care home staff, can submit to voluntary testing at any time they wish. The results they receive will also be given to their employer if this is an appropriate action to take (such as the test is positive).
As you can see, it is your right to get tested if you wish it. If your employer does not assist you in getting tested, they could be liable for damages if you suffer as a result. Our team will tell you more about this if you give them a call.
Could I Claim If My Employer Did Not Provide Me With PPE?
If your employer has failed in their health and safety obligations, to provide you with proper PPE of good quality, and the training to use it, then they could be liable if you contract the illness while working for them.
Care home nurse coronavirus personal protective equipment is mandatory, and it is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that an adequate supply is available at all times.
If you believe your employer has failed to provide you with the right PPE and training, and you have become sick because of this, one of our claim advisors will tell you whether you should proceed with a claim or not.
Care Home Staff Coronavirus PPE Compensation Claims Calculator
You might be able to find some kind of personal injury claims calculator that will assist you in working out roughly how much compensation you might receive if you make a claim. You can also use the example table below to do this. The table is based on the Judicial College Guidelines, a document designed to help solicitors value claims.
| Health Issue | Level of severity | Range of Compensation | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illness | Minor | £860 to £3,710 | A recognised and diagnosed illness, that could manifest only minor symptoms, all of them would disappear within a few weeks at most. Treatment may include prescription-only drugs, and the patient would recover at home. |
| Illness | Moderate | £3,710 to £8,950 | A recognised and diagnosed illness, with only moderate symptoms, that the patient would recover from within a few weeks. However, there may be some lingering symptoms that could last up to a year or two. An initial stay in a hospital may be required, with further recuperation at home. |
| Illness | Serious | £8,950 to £18,020 | A recognised and diagnosed illness with quite serious symptoms. These symptoms would generally clear up within a month, but there will be some long-term health problems that are potentially permanent, and would affect the victim for the rest of their lives. The patient may have been hospitalised for the duration of their recovery. |
| Illness | Severe | £36,060 to £49,270 | A recognized and diagnosed illness with severe symptoms, that could even be life-threatening. The patient will need emergency hospital treatment and will remain hospitalised for the duration of their illness. Invasive treatment such as having to use a ventilator for assisted breathing may be needed. The patient will suffer some negative effect on their constitution for some time in the future, perhaps permanently. |
If you want a personalised, accurate estimate of the level of damages that you might receive, we can organise a solicitor to value your claim for you. Call our claims team to organise this.
Special Damages Care Home Staff Could Claim
If your personal injury lawyer processes your claim successfully, you will receive an overall compensation settlement that is made up of a number of different kinds of damages. General damages are paid to the claimant to cover physical and psychological harm. The level of compensation is calculated based on how much pain and suffering the victim went through, the kinds of treatment they received, and any permanent or long-term symptoms or impairment. This could include:
- Disabilities, long-term or permanent.
- Psychological damage.
- Undergoing intrusive or traumatic treatment.
- General pain and suffering.
- Mental trauma and anguish.
Special damages are the other side of the coin and are paid to compensate the claimant for non-physical losses relating to the injury. If the claimant intends to try and recoup money already spent, they will need to provide documented evidence of this spending. Special damages might include:
- Lowered future earning potential.
- Loss of earnings.
- Private medical fees.
- The cost of care.
- To reimburse out of pocket expenses.
If you would like to know which kinds of damages might apply to your own claim, please call our claims team, they can advise you.
No Win No Fee Covid-19 Claims By Nursing Home Staff For A Lack Of PPE
You can use the services of a No Win No Fee solicitor to gain access to the legal help you need to make a claim and minimise the financial risks at the same time.
You won’t need to pay a fee to begin the claim, or while it is being processed. If the claim fails, your solicitor won’t expect you to pay their fees. If it is won, your solicitor will ask you to pay a small, legally capped success fee, which would be deducted from the compensation awarded at the end of the case.
For more information on our No WIn No Fee agreements, please get in touch.
Start Your Nursing Home Staff Coronavirus Claim
Do you work in a care home and have contracted coronavirus due to exposure at work? We might be able to help you to make a compensation claim. Please contact our claims team on 0800 073 8804 to proceed.
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