When people think of dangerous jobs, they may first think of those who work in construction and industry. In the public sector, they may think of firefighters and police officers.
But nurses who work in the hospitals throughout New York City have an especially dangerous job, according to United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.
When compared to the rest of the workforce, nurses experience a disproportionate number of injuries due to overexerting their bodies.
This is not surprising since nurses frequently must lift or move patients as well as heavy and awkward medical equipment.
Interestingly, nurses also experience more injuries due to work-related violence than do other occupations. Patients can for different reasons get belligerent with the medical staff and could attack them or forcibly resist treatment.
Nurses also experience slips and falls at a comparable rate to the rest of the work force. They face exposure to toxins given the potential for needle sticks as well as their having to work in environments prone to contagious diseases.
Nurses may have to prove that their injuries are work-related
Many injuries nurses suffer involve strains, sprains or other soft tissue injuries, often to the back.
Sometimes, these and other injuries can be difficult to prove for workers’ compensation purposes, especially if the injury develops over time.
To give an example, sometimes an employer or their carrier may claim that a nurse’s injury must have happened off the clock.
In other cases, the carrier may admit that they should pay benefits but will still try to minimize the extent of the injury. Effectively, they could try to rush a nurse back to work before they are ready to return.
The nursing profession is one of service to others. Nurses risk their own health in lots of ways to protect the health of their patients. They deserve full workers’ compensation benefits if they get hurt or sick because of their profession.