The nursing staff provides essential daily care to patients. Nurses, nursing assistants, and orderlies are instrumental in saving lives by dispensing medication, and monitoring the health and recovery of patients. Unfortunately, nursing employees also suffer horrible injuries on a regular basis, which result in long-lasting health issues.
Our work injury attorneys have seen how much nurses suffer due to the physical strain of their jobs.
“There are significant physical challenges that the nursing staff faces each day,” Scott Mann says, 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.”
Over 35,000 nursing employees miss time from work each year due to injuries (Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics). This significantly affects their earning potential, which makes it difficult to pay medical bills and provide for their families. According to the BLS, no other occupation suffers a higher volume of injuries than nursing assistants. This is further illustrated by the fact that nursing staff employees suffer back and musculoskeletal injuries 3 times more often than construction workers (BLS).
“Workplace injuries cause many nurses to give up their profession at a young,” Mike Wyatt explains, 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. ”
Please contact our work injury attorneys if you have been the victim of a hospital workplace accident. Mann Wyatt Tanksley Injury Attorneys is honored to assist in your full recovery!