8 COMMON INJURIES TO MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS
December 9, 2021
Medical professionals are known as the experts with the most challenging and risky tasks. For instance, health workers are exposed to germs and diseases, and their work may involve tasks that may lead to physical injuries. It is essential to be aware of the common injuries you are likely to experience as a medical professional. Besides, it is the best way to recognize personal injuries and make a worker’s compensation claim when necessary. Physical injuries that health workers may experience include concussions, bruises, and broken bones. Here are 8 common injuries to medical professionals.
1. Slip and Fall Injuries
Hospitals have many dangers that may result in a health worker’s slip, trip, or even fall. For instance, spilled liquids, leaking IV fluids, patient body fluids, and mop water residue create a slippery surface that can prove catastrophic to the employees working in a hospital. Besides that, damaged flooring in patients’ rooms or hallways such as loose wires, medical tubing, cords, or even hoses can contribute to falling and result in broken bones, fractures, and muscle tears.
2. Illness Exposure
Health workers have a high chance of contracting infectious diseases while working in the hospital. Some of the severe illnesses that medical professionals may contract include influenza, Aids, Ebola, and Tuberculosis. Getting infected with any of the above diseases may cause one’s life unbearable. Understanding these injuries is essential as it assists one to seek the justice that they deserve whenever they get exposure.
3. Data Entry Injuries
Data entry injuries refer to the types of injury that originate from the habit of medical experts to spend most of their time on the computer. Medical professionals are responsible for keying in and updating many healthcare records and reports to the computer. By spending most of the time sitting behind the computer, they may end up suffering from illnesses such as carpal tunnel syndrome, back pain, and other related injuries.
4. Back Injuries
Sometimes the work done by medical professionals includes a lot of heavy lifting, twisting, bending, and quick movements which may lead to injuries such as back pain. For instance, rescuing and transferring patients from one point to another or from one position to another requires lots of fluxions, rotations, and non-neutral postures. All these may put a lot of stress on the back muscles and the spinal cord, resulting in an injury.
5. Violence
Another common risk that health personnel has to deal with is assault at the workplace. Friends, patients, and family members can become aggressive due to stress or grief and hurt healthcare professionals. Additionally, most of the patients in a facility may be dominated by patients with psychiatric disorders or patients who have taken illicit drugs. The behavior of such people may be unpredictable. Moreover, medical facilities are common targets for robbers or malicious people who might get shortcuts for getting rich fast.
6. Contact with Objects
Medical facilities harbor numerous sharp objects that may be a source of wounds for healthcare works. For instance, contact with surgical instruments, broken glass, needles, and other sharp objects have been the cause of most healthcare injuries.
7. Under staffing
Several clinics, hospitals, and nursing homes may experience understaffing due to budget constraints and a shortage of qualified professionals. While understaffing may not seem like a serious problem to some people, the truth is that it enhances the risks of injuries occasioned by the pressure to work faster and the absence of qualified professionals to lend a helping hand.
8. Burns
Suppose a fire breaks out in a hospital setup. In that case, medical professionals are at risk of suffering from burns, since they are responsible for evacuating patients and ensuring safety. The fact that they have to do the evacuation means that they will be operating closely with fire.
Bottom-Line
As a medical professional, it may be hard to take the place of a patient and start seeking treatment as a result of an accident at the place of work. Nonetheless, working when you are tired, stressed, or hurt may compromise your patients’ safety, which makes seeking professional help necessary.
Contact a Orlando Workers Compensation Attorney if you have questions about a work injury.