Fatal Workplace Injuries Among Health Care Workers

Hospital workers of all types are often at greater risk of injury than workers in other fields or industries, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The majority of these injuries result from a handful of “well-known hazards,” OSHA explains, citing overexertion injuries, slips and falls, bruises and fractures, cuts and punctures, and exposure to communicable diseases. While nonfatal injuries are, unfortunately, relatively common among hospital workers, fatal injuries are much less frequent but do occur. Based on data from OSHA, fatal hospital worker injuries only account for about 1 percent of all recorded workplace fatalities, but these injuries can be particularly devastating when they do occur.

Our Maryland hospital worker injury lawyers can provide you with more information about deadly workplace injuries in hospital settings, and we can help you to seek workers’ compensation benefits if a loved one recently sustained a fatal injury while working in a health care setting.

Learning More About Fatal Injuries Among Hospital Workers 

According to OSHA, in hospitals and related health care settings, “workplace fatalities are rare, but they do occur.” On average, there are about 24 hospital worker fatalities each year, and a large majority of them are due to violence. Nurses, nursing assistants, and health care workers in related roles have frequent patient interactions, and patient contact and violence can result in severe harm to workers. Nearly 30 percent of fatalities reported in hospitals among workers are due to acts of violence.

Even more reported hospital worker fatalities cite motor vehicles as causal factors, and those hospital worker deaths are categorized as transportation-related fatalities. These deadly injuries account for about 37 percent of fatalities affecting hospital workers. The third-leading and fourth-leading causes of hospital worker deaths, each resulting in about fifteen percent of all related fatalities, are falls and exposures to harmful substances or communicable diseases.

Hospital Worker Fatalities Increase in Certain Types of Facilities 

Some specialized hospital settings tend to be more hazardous for workers than others. General medical and surgical hospitals are the types of facilities with which most of us think of when a hospital is referenced, but psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals also exist, along with certain types of nursing homes in which nurses and nursing assistants can be at increased risk of injury from patient contact.

The type of job a person has in a hospital can also impact the likelihood of a serious or fatal injury. Hospitals employ a wide range of workers, from physicians and nurses who have direct contact with patients to management to food service and maintenance workers.

Contact a Maryland Hospital Worker Injury Lawyer 

If you are a surviving family member of a hospital worker who was killed on the job, it is important to find out about workers’ compensation benefits. The workers’ compensation system in Maryland will cover funeral expenses up to $7,000 and can provide a portion of the deceased workers’ average weekly wage for surviving dependents, which can include a surviving spouse. Do not hesitate to get in touch with one of the experienced Maryland hospital worker injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Steinhardt, Siskind and Lieberman, LLC for assistance. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help.

Source:

osha.gov/sites/default/files/1.2_Factbook_508.pdf