Hospitals depend on their nursing staff to provide crucial patient care on a daily basis. Nurses, nursing assistants, and orderlies play a significant role in saving lives by giving medication, and monitoring the health and recovery of patients. However, nursing employees also experience terrible injuries that have long-term health consequences.
Our work injury attorneys want to help nursing employees receive the fair compensation they deserve after an injury.
“There are significant physical challenges that the nursing staff faces each day,” explains Scott Mann, work injury attorney. “Nurses and orderlies are constantly moving for long periods of time without a break. They are also responsible for moving and lifting patients who outweigh them by hundreds of pounds. These obese patients are not moved once, but dozens of times a day by the same nurse. As a result, nurses suffer back, neck, rotator cuff, and other injuries that can negatively affect their personal and professional lives.”
According to the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), each year nursing employees experience over 35,000 injuries which result in missed work days. This makes it difficult for nurses to pay hospital expenses, provide for families, or earn a living wage. Nursing assistants actually suffer a higher volume of injuries on the job than any other occupation (BLS). Construction workers also have demanding jobs, but nursing staff employees experience back and musculoskeletal injuries 3 times as often (BLS).
“Workplace injuries cause many nurses to give up their profession at a young,” Mike Wyatt says, work injury attorney. “Studies also indicate that hospitals and schools have been teaching nurses the wrong techniques for lifting patients. When these improper mechanics are combined with the demands of the job, it creates an unsafe work environment where injuries are commonplace. Unfortunately, the complaints of injured nurses are often ignored or overlooked, and hospitals fail to take the necessary actions to protect their staff. ”
If you’ve been injured in a hospital workplace accident, Mann Wyatt Tanksley Injury Attorneys is ready to help. Call our work injury attorneys today for a consultation!