The primary job responsibility for health care workers in Pennsylvania is to ensure that patients are receiving the care they need. This can include administering medications, moving patients to different beds or areas, conducting surgeries and other medical procedures and many other tasks. People may not realize it, but there are many physical requirements that are a part of health care workers’ jobs.
In addition to the physical requirements, health care workers also need to do their jobs when there may be different fluids or objects on the floors in certain situations. Due to all of the potential hazards that are in hospitals and other health care facilities, many health care workers suffer workplace injuries to themselves while they are trying to care for their patients. They may become patients themselves as a result. There are many different ways that health care workers can suffer injuries, but according to a study, some injuries are more common than others.
Common causes of injuries in hospitals
For most hospitals the most common cause of injuries was overexertion and bodily reaction. These injuries usually are due to lifting objects and moving patients. These types of injuries accounted for 45% of all nonfatal injuries in private hospitals and 44% of all injuries in local government hospitals.
The second most common reason for injuries in both private and local government hospitals were due to slips, trips and falls due to objects or other foreign substances being on the floors. These accounted for 25% of all injuries in private hospitals and 24% of all injuries in local government hospitals.
Other common reasons for injuries are violence against the workers by patients or others. These were not as common in private and local government hospitals, but was actually the most common reason for injuries in state run hospitals, which are often for psychiatric and substance abuse patients. Contact with equipment or other objects also lead to approximately 10% of all injuries.
The types of injuries suffered by health care workers in Pennsylvania can vary, but the most common type of injuries were sprains, strains and tears. Approximately 25% of the injuries kept the health care worker out of work for 31 or more days as well. Health care workers may be able to receive workers’ compensation benefits in those situations. These benefits can be very valuable as health care workers recover from their injuries and it is important that they receive what they deserve. Experienced attorneys understand the workers’ compensation process and may be able to guide people through it.
