The health care industry is widely considered to be one of the most challenging and potentially dangerous. Health care workers take on a variety of different roles, such as doctors, nurses and paramedics.
Not only are health care workers concerned with treating injured patients, but they also face a significant risk of injury themselves. Outlined below are four of the most common injuries among health care workers.
Infections
Health care facilities such as hospitals have the potential to be a hotbed for bacteria. As a result, health care workers face a significant risk of infections. This risk is greatly increased when a workplace does not engage in high standards of cleanliness and hygiene.
Back injuries
Health care work often involves a significant amount of lifting, twisting, turning and moving. For example, paramedics may rescue people from dangerous situations while doctors and nurses have to transfer patients to different wards. For the above reasons, health care workers can be particularly susceptible to back pain, slipped discs and strain on the spinal cord.
Burns
It is not uncommon for paramedics to attend to dangerous situations such as car accidents or house fires. One consequence of this is that they can be exposed to extreme levels of heat. As a result, certain health care workers often receive severe burn injuries.
Slip-and-fall injuries
Due to being constantly on the move, health care workers face potential exposure to slip-and-fall accidents. Numerous injuries can result from this, but bone fractures are perhaps most common.
Recognizing the common dangers that health care workers face could be in your best interests. If you have been injured while working in a medical occupation, you may have various legal options available to you.
