During a typical work shift, many hospital staff nurses will lift 20 patients into bed and transfer 5-10 patients from a bed to a chair. Patients typically weigh well in excess of 100 pounds, so that means a minimum of two thousand five hundred pounds is moved every day. That’s 12,500 lbs a week, 50,000 lbs a month and a whopping 600,000 pounds a year for a nurse employed full time! Now that’s a bodybuilders dream.
However, moving that amount of weight is well above the weight that would be considered “safe” for industrial workers for this frequency of lifting. No wonder nursing is a risky occupation for back injuries!
The majority of these back injuries are due to patient assist failures coupled with the relative mechanical disadvantage that stretchers, wheelchairs and hospital beds present. As a result of repetitiously lifting, pushing and pulling from awkward positions, it’s inevitable that many nurses will injure themselves on the job. Serious medical problems include herniated discs, shoulder injuries and mental health complications.
If you’re a nurse or a health care worker who lifts and moves patients, and you have experienced an injury or occupational disease, give us a call. We’re familiar with the hazards that arise from working in a patient care setting. We want you to know about your rights as an injured worker. Many of your questions about your job injury can be answered with our free phone consultation.
Remember, you need to be as careful with your own body as you are with your patient’s.
The Sharpe Law Firm helps injured workers.
