The NPR “All Things Considered” program examined some of the dangers nursing employees face at work, noting that the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) found that more than 35,000 nursing employees suffer back and other injuries at work each year. In fact, according to the BLS, “nursing assistants are injured more than any other occupation, followed by warehouse workers, truckers, stock clerks and registered nurses.” The piece notes how some hospitals are trying to reduce the risk. However, “David Michaels, the assistant secretary of Labor who heads the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration,” said Congress and the courts have severely restricted OSHA’s ability “to require hospitals to protect nursing employees.”
From the news release of the American Association for Justice.
