Nursing staff often suffer injuries

Nurses and other staff are often well-loved people that Denver residents encounter while in the hospital or other care facility. These employees work hard to make sure their patients are well cared for. But, health care workers are also injured on the job at a high rate, suffering from a workplace accident or other serious injury.

Thousands of nursing employees across the United States are injured on the job each year. Nursing assistants and orderlies suffer serious back injuries at a rate that is three times higher than construction workers. Nursing assistants injure their musculoskeletal systems more than any other job occupation surveyed. These important staff members suffer so many injuries mainly because of their job of moving patients. Research shows there really isn’t any safe way to move patients manually and by not providing the necessary machines to move patients, hospitals and other facilities are putting their nursing assistant workers at risk. Many times, these nursing assistants suffer such severe injuries that they are no longer able to work. Many hospitals have not taken action to protect their nursing staff from these injuries.

When a person is injured on the job it can be a big deal. Not only are they facing medical trauma, but they may be out of work for a long period of time. Workers’ compensation can help with medical expenses and lost wages while a person is unable to work. A legal professional who is skilled in personal injury can make sure their client is receiving the amount of workers’ compensation that they are entitled to. They can research what caused the injury and help their client get back on their feet.

A workplace accident for nursing staff is all too common. Those who are injured on the job have a legal right to workers compensation for their injuries and lost wages.

Source: npr.org, “Hospitals fail to protect nursing staff from becoming patients“, Daniel Zwerdling, Feb. 4, 2015