A Workplace Injury Impacts More than Just the Injured Worker: Looking at The Family  

Case Management Focus

An unexpected workplace injury or illness impacts the injured worker and those most important to them. The severity of the illness or injury can lead to stress, frustration, and breakdowns within the family.  

In this post, I wanted to share some ways nurse case managers can help injured workers and their families cope and heal after a workplace injury or illness.  

Transparency: Encourage the injured worker to be open and honest about their condition—its impact, what happened, the challenges they are facing, the complexities of the compensation system, and other things relevant to their overall experience. The nurse case manager, by addressing concerns, can help the injured worker and their family understand the process, address issues promptly, and set realistic expectations.  

Include your children: A workplace injury or illness changes the dynamics of the household, and as a result, your children will have questions and fears. Many think shielding children from the reality of the situation helps them. Yetl, it has been found that telling your children what happened in age-appropriate discussions will allay fears and help to reassure them that the family unit is intact and they are safe. 

Time to Heal: The injured worker needs time to heal. One of the best things the nurse case manager can do is encourage the injured worker to take care of themselves — physically and mentally. Healing in these areas is of utmost importance and lays the groundwork for everything that will happen next. Talking to the injured worker and their spouse about their challenges can signal the nurse case manager that the injured worker, and the family may need to speak to a psychologist or mental health provider to address issues impacting them. Talking to therapists and other team members helps to know how the worker is progressing or is stalled in recovery.  

Moving Forward, talk to the employer about the opportunity for the injured worker to return to work that meets their abilities so that the injured worker and their family see progress.  

In addition to return to work, the nurse case manager can encourage the injured worker and the family to resume their routines. If help is needed, talk to the treating doctor to order attendant care so that the spouse can go back to work or just get out of the house to do things for themselves. Returning to their routine is essential, especially if this will be a long-term process.   

Resources: Ensure injured workers have the equipment they need to do things. For an injured worker who has a catastrophic injury/illness that impacts ambulation or other major functions, do they have a wheelchair and a car that will accommodate a wheelchair? Having physical and occupational therapists make recommendations to help injured workers integrate into their environment is essential.  

Look for support groups with recreational programs that help find activities the patient and the family can participate in. They are out there!  

While it’s well-known that workplace injuries put a lot of stress on relationships, the nurse case manager and the treatment team can help all adapt to their new normal. 

I hope these tips give you some ideas on how to help injured workers and their families cope with and adjust to their journey.  

Share This Article: