Jun 21, 2017

Common Work Injuries for Healthcare Professionals

Nathaniel Hansford
Reviewed by:
Nate Hansford

Healthcare workers serve an important role in society: to help the injured
and the sick recover back to full health. So it’s easy to forget
that these individuals are exactly like everyone else: human, and that
makes them also capable of being injured or falling ill due to their work.
In fact, the healthcare industry is extremely prone to illness and injury—between
12+ hour shifts, the constant exposure to new illnesses and other toxic
chemicals, and the extremely high stress levels, it’s a surprise
more workers don’t get hurt every year. Let’s take a closer
look at some of the major hazards that healthcare workers face every day.

Overexertion Injuries

These are by far the most common type of workplace injury, and can occur
either suddenly or develop over time. Overexertion can be everything from
pulling or straining a muscle while lifting something heavy to extreme
fatigue from multiple days of long shifts leading to little rest. Overexertion
can also lead to the development of conditions like arthritis, hernias,
and other issues. Perhaps one of the largest unique risks to healthcare
workers is the extremely high risk of developing a musculoskeletal disorder;
nursing aids, attendants, and other orderlies have the highest risk of
developing one of these conditions according to OSHA statistics and research.

Needles

Healthcare workers are constantly around needles for one reason or another.
Whether it’s vaccinating a young child, drawing blood for a laboratory
test, or inserting an intravenous needle, any of these instruments could
accidentally slip and poke through the healthcare attendant’s skin.
This could be an immense problem, particularly if a needle has already
been used. Contaminated needles are seen as highly-dangerous medical waste,
and must be cared for with the highest amount of precaution. It’s
not uncommon for even a minor accident to lead to a serious infection
or contraction of a bloodborne disease.

Workplace Violence

Have you ever noticed a team of security guards at a hospital and wondered
why they were there? Believe it or not, hospital workers are actually
at an extremely high risk for being assaulted at work. It’s easy
for patients or their families to become frustrated and turn violent when
they don’t receive good news, and others are assaulted by those
who are seeking medications they’ve become addicted to, like painkillers.
Hospitals treat everybody, including violent criminals who may have just
been injured in an incident with the police. Therefore, it’s actually
far more common than you might think for a healthcare worker to sustain
a serious injury simply due to someone becoming unexpectedly violent.

Slips & Falls

Fluids are constantly on the move in hospitals, and that means spills
can happen nearly anywhere and at any time. When you combine this fact
with the smooth, polished flooring that is found at most hospitals (due
to its ease of cleaning and disinfecting), you have an environment that’s
ripe with slip-and-fall risks. Still other potential fall hazards exist
as well. Hospital equipment often requires a connection to an electrical
outlet, and that means extension cords could be running along the ground
unexpectedly, resulting in a trip and fall hazard. Falls can result in
everything from bruising to muscle strains, to broken bones and concussions
and much, much more.

If you are a healthcare worker who has been injured while on duty, you
should not hesitate to seek legal counsel from a skilled Atlanta workers’
compensation attorney.
Hansford McDaniel – Workers’ Compensation Attorneys can provide you with more than 20 years of combined experience to help
you obtain the compensation and benefits you need to help you recover
and get your life back to normal. We are proud to stand out thanks to
our unique approach to each case—one which places your needs and
best interests first. We only handle workers’ compensation cases,
and that gives us a deep level of familiarity and ability with this area
of law that could give you a decisive advantage.

Call Hansford McDaniel – Workers’ Compensation Attorneys today at 770-922-3660 to set up a free consultation and discuss your
legal options now!