Nursing is one of the most physically demanding professions, often requiring long hours, repetitive motions, and the lifting or repositioning of patients.
Unfortunately, these tasks come with significant risks, making nurses more likely to suffer workplace injuries than many labor-intensive professionals.
In this blog, we’ll explore the most common injuries nurses experience, the factors that contribute to these injuries, and how our team can help you advocate for injured nurses and strengthen your workers’ compensation claims.
The Consequences of Patient Handling Injuries
Nurses are the backbone of the healthcare system, but their work often takes a toll on their bodies. According to the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, nurses experience over 35,000 musculoskeletal injuries annually, many of which result in missed workdays or even early retirement. In fact, studies show that nurses are at a higher risk for injury than construction workers, factory workers, and other physically-demanding professions.
Despite efforts by hospitals to improve workplace safety, patient handling injuries, like those caused by lifting or repositioning patients, account for 25% of all workers’ compensation claims in the healthcare industry.
These injuries are not only common but also costly, with the average claim totaling $15,600. Workplace injuries can lead to chronic pain, lost wages, and even the end of a nurse’s career.
The Most Common Injuries Nurses Face
The physical demands of nursing can cause injuries that develop over time or occur suddenly during patient care. The most prevalent types of injuries nurses experience include:
Sprains
These occur when ligaments are stretched or torn, often due to sudden movements or improper lifting techniques.
Strains
These involve the stretching or tearing of muscles or tendons, typically caused by overexertion or repetitive motions.
Herniated Discs
Also known as “slipped” or “ruptured” discs, herniated discs occur when the soft tissue between spinal vertebrae pushes outward, often causing severe pain and limiting mobility.
Why Patient Handling Injuries Are So Common
Despite training and safety protocols, nurses face significant barriers to safe patient handling. Factors that can contribute to these injuries include:
- Distance and posture: The distance between the nurse and the patient, as well as the amount of bend in the spine during a lift, significantly increase the risk of injury.
- Repetition: Frequent lifting, even with proper technique, places cumulative stress on the body, leading to wear and tear over time.
- Lack of equipment: Many hospitals lack sufficient lifting equipment.
- Understaffing: When units are short-staffed, nurses may have no choice but to lift patients on their own, increasing the risk of injury.
- Heavier patients: With obesity rates on the rise, nurses are often required to lift heavier patients, placing additional strain on their bodies.
- Sicker patients: Patients in hospitals today are often sicker and less mobile than in the past, making them more challenging to move safely.
- Time constraints: When lifting equipment is shared between units or stored inconveniently in various locations or behind other supplies, nurses under time constraints may decide to manually lift the patient instead.
Additionally, a number of popular lifting techniques (pivot lift, bear hug, shoulder lift, and others) are actually unsafe. This places nurses in quite the predicament when a patient needs to be repositioned or lifted, but manual lifting is their only viable option.
The Financial and Personal Costs of Nursing Injuries
The impact of workplace injuries extends far beyond the physical pain nurses endure. These injuries also come with significant financial and personal costs.
For nurses, injuries often result in missed workdays, reduced earning potential, and, in some cases, the inability to continue working altogether.
Additionally, the healthcare industry spends approximately $2 billion annually on overexertion injuries, with wage replacement costs accounting for the majority of workers’ compensation claims.
High injury rates contribute to nurse burnout and turnover, exacerbating staffing shortages and reducing the quality of patient care.
Empowering Injured Nurses to Rebuild Their Lives
Workers’ compensation attorneys handling cases involving injured nurses must understand the unique physical demands and hazards of the profession to build strong, compelling cases.
In addition to the physical demands we outlined above, nurses can also face hazards that are less common in other industries, like exposure to infectious diseases.
Hospitals may take part in safe patient handling programs, which are designed to protect workers and patients. Attorneys unfamiliar with these standards may miss opportunities to demonstrate an employer’s failure to provide a safe work environment.
Integrity Legal Nurse Consulting PDX helps attorneys navigate complex medical data through our chart review and analysis, future medical cost projections, reasonableness of charges services, and more.
By understanding the unique risks and regulatory frameworks surrounding nursing injuries, attorneys can better advocate for their clients, ensure they receive fair compensation, and hold employers accountable for preventable harm.
Book a free consultation with our team today and get paired with an expert legal nurse who can help.
Sources:
- Hospitals Fail To Protect Nursing Staff From Becoming Patients | NPR
- Occupational Injuries and Illnesses by Selected Characteristics for State and Local Government News Release | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Safe Patient Handling Programs | Occupational Safety and Health Administration
- Safe Patient Handling and Mobility | Association of Rehabilitation Nurses
- Patient handling: Fact vs. Fiction | American Nurse Journal
- How Safe Is Your Hospital for Workers? | Occupational Safety and Health Administration
- Worker Safety in Hospitals | Occupational Safety and Health Administration