Unsafe Working Conditions

Unsafe Working Conditions

Hospitals are supposed to be safe places, but in reality they can pose serious safety concerns to the nurses who work there. Unsafe nursing working conditions have many causes and manifestations, but one thing remains clear – they endanger nurses, and they are unacceptable. Read on for more information on the dangers of unsafe working conditions and how nurses can fight back if they've been injured on the job.

The causes of unsafe workplace conditions can vary, but often depend on staffing levels, funding, management and facility maintenance decisions, and overcrowding. Cluttered hallways and overflowing cabinets can create slip and fall hazards, while aging equipment or undertreated patients can raise other risks for nurses on the job. The dangers vary as much as the nurses who face them – everything from assault to broken bones to disease transmission can fall under the umbrella of unsafe workplace conditions.

If there is any confusion about the wide variety of unsafe workplace conditions, there isn't any about the responsible party in an unsafe workplace – the employer. Under the federal Occupational and Safety Hazard Act (OSHA), employers are legally obligated to provide safe facilities to their employees. This burden can present itself in different ways – the obligation to properly train staff on the operation of dangerous equipment, to maintain facilities regularly and well, to maintain proper staffing ratios and observe other staffing laws. When an employer breaches that trust and endangers their staff, they can face federal, state, and local criminal charges, but can also be brought to task by the injured nurse herself, who can file a claim for monetary damages in civil court.

These Nursing personal injury claims due to unsafe workplace conditions are complex and require a great deal of care in their execution. A thorough evaluation and investigation must be made, expert witnesses identified and called on the nurse's behalf, and a case carefully constructed in support of his or her claim. The right personal injury lawyer doesn't just spearhead this effort – he or she identifies whether a case might prevail and sticks with it until it does.

Anapol Schwartz specializes in personal injury because we're passionate about our clients' rights to a safe workplace. Our experienced, reputable attorneys fight and win on behalf of nursing injury clients – and you could have a qualifying claim. Contact us today for more information and a free case evaluation.

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