Nation’s RNs Hail Sen. Franken’s Support for Safe Patient Handling Measure.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, direct care nurses experience work injures more often than laborers, movers and truck drivers! You may wonder what causes all of these work related injuries? They are caused by repositioning, moving and lifting heavy patients.
More than half of all nurses have chronic back pain and over one-third have pain severe enough to require sick leave. Many others leave nursing due to this kind of injury.
A new Senate bill introduced by Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn) called The Nurse and Health Care Worker Protection Act of 2009 calls for OSHA to stop the manual lifting of patients by nurses and other health care providers and switch to using mechanical devices as much as possible.
The bill was written with help by nurses in the United American Nurses, AFL-CIO and Minnesota Nurses Association.
I have experienced that nurses are sometimes reluctant to make a workers’ comp claim, and I hope that if this bill passes it will reduce work related injuries for nurses.
If you are a nurse then I want you to feel comfortable and realize that we keep any consultations in strictest confidence.
Feel free to call me, Michele Lewane, at 804-755-7755 for a free consultation on your workers’ compensation claim.
About the Author: Injured Workers Law Firm
The Injured Workers Law Firm is a Richmond, Virginia based firm solely focused on serving clients with workers' compensation claims in Virginia. If you have questions about your benefits or if you would like more information on the Virginia Workers’ Compensation system, order our book, “The Ultimate Guide to Workers’ Compensation in Virginia” , or call our office today (804) 755-7755.