Nurses spend their workdays treating those who have suffered injuries, illnesses or other ailments. Unfortunately, many nurses are also injured themselves while providing these services. They may need to know how to seek workers’ compensation after such an injury.
But why exactly do these injuries happen? There are many different reasons, with three of the most common explored below.
Heavy lifting
According to some reports, heavy lifting is more common in the nursing occupation than in any other industry. This can lead to back injuries, spinal cord injuries and other musculoskeletal issues. Often, the problem is simply that nurses have to help lift and transport heavy patients. This is especially dangerous if they are trying to perform the lift on their own without assistance.
Workplace violence
Other reports show that workplace violence against nurses has been on the rise in recent years. Nurses could be injured in attacks coming from visitors, patients or even coworkers. These are often sudden events, and there is little that nurses can do to avoid being injured.
Slip-and-fall accidents
Finally, nurses face many of the risks that you would find in any other occupation. A nurse could slip and fall on a wet floor or trip on a staircase that has inadequate lighting. Nurses are often moving quickly, with packed schedules, which can increase the odds of some of these accidents and injuries.
Workers’ comp benefits
Are you a nurse who has been injured on the job? If so, be sure you know how to seek appropriate workers’ comp benefits to help cover medical bills, lost wages and more.