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Healthcare workers suffer from the highest amount of workplace injuries and the industry itself has a serious lack of regulations, according to a recent report from advocacy nonprofit Public Citizen.
The report claims that roughly 650,000 healthcare workers – including nurses, aids and orderlies – sustain injuries or illnesses every year, the largest amount of musculoskeletal injuries in any job field. That number reached 653,900 in 2010. Manufacturing, the industry with the second highest number of injuries reported, reported approximately 500,000 injuries that year.
OSHA Cites Lack of Resources
The report says that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) does not perform enough safety inspections at hospitals, and that it lacks standards for preventing on the job injuries.
“It is unacceptable that the workers who have dedicated their lives to caring for our loved ones when they are sick are the very same workers who face the highest risk of work-related injury and illness,” said David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA. The administration said that low funds could be responsible for the industry’s lack of safety regulations.
Workers in the health care industry deserve a level of protection that they are clearly not receiving for their high risk occupations. If you are a doctor or nurse injured in a workplace accident, contact our office to learn about your options for recovery. You may be eligible for workers compensation or Social Security disability insurance.
Larrimer & Larrimer, LLC—Columbus Workers Comp Attorneys