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Hospitals: Good for Patients, Dangerous for Workers

John Lesaganich July 13, 2018

When an Illinois resident suffers an injury or an illness and has to be admitted to the hospital they generally are treated with excellent medical care and are able to recover from their ailment. However, while most patients emerge from their hospitalizations in better condition than they were in when they went in, hospital workers suffer an alarming number of injuries while performing their duties. Many of the ailments they suffer may be compensable through workers’ compensation claims.

One of the most common types of hospital worker injuries reported by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is overextension. These injuries, which include strains and sprains, account for almost half of reported hospital worker injuries and happen when workers reach too far or pull too hard to move patients or medical equipment.

After overextension injuries comes slips as the next most common form of hospital worker harm. Tripping and falling while on the job make up around a quarter of all hospital worker injuries. After these, violence, substance exposure, and other causes make up the remaining 25 percent of hospital worker ailments.

Hospital worker injuries can afflict nurses, doctors and all other individuals who make their place of employment in medical centers. Although medical facilities should take the time to train their employees on safe practices and to make safe equipment available to them too many preventable on-the-job incidents continue to occur. After a hospital accident a worker may have options for seeking workers’ compensation. These benefits can help them make ends meet as they recover from their injuries and prepare to get back to their hospital-based jobs.