According to the National Safety Council, workplace fatigue is to blame for over 10 percent of all workplace injuries. Nearly 50 percent of workers are sleep deprived, with those grinding out the night shift, irregular shifts and overtime facing an increased risks of workplace injuries.

A recent report reveals that nearly every worker has at least one workplace fatigue risk factor and more than 80% have two or more. When multiple risk factors are present, the potential for injuries on the job increases.  It is important for employers to recognize that safety performance decreases as employees become tired and certain workforce populations may be at increased risk.

• Fifty percent of night shift workers suffer from sleep deprivation
• Employees with rotating shifts are particularly vulnerable to fatigue related injuries because they cannot adapt their body clocks
• Workers that put in overtime are at increased risk as any long duration without sleep can affect performance
• Workers who operate potentially dangerous machinery at a factory or scale heights on a construction job face a greater risk of injury or even death when fatigued

For employees that drive for a living, the risk only goes up. Drowsy driving is impaired driving and tired employees are three times more likely to be in a car crash, with thousands of fatalities attributed to drowsy driving every year. Drivers who lose just a couple hours of sleep perform similarly to someone who has had a few beers and being awake in excess of twenty hours is the equivalent of being legally drunk.
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Fatigue on the job has become a critical safety issue among the nation’s 24/7 workforce and it is important for employers and employees to recognize the risks. If you have been injured at work, contact the Des Moines workers’ compensation attorneys of Hemminger Law Firm for a free consultation at 515-283-2116.

A New Jersey nursing and rehabilitative facility was fined $600,000 after nearly a dozen children died and many more were sickened after an adenovirus swept the facility. An investigation by state and federal officials reveal that poor hand washing practices and lapses in infection control posed a severe risk to the vulnerable patients in the facility likely contributing to the spread of the virus.
Even after the adenovirus took hold, nurses and other personal were observed not washing their hands between handling equipment attached to patients and themselves or other equipment, including respirators and feeding tubes, providing a means for the virus to spread in the patient population.

Although adenoviruses typically cause mild illness, medically fragile patients are at naturally higher risk for developing life threatening symptoms. Poor hygienic practices in the nursing home and a failure to respond to the growing crisis likely played a role in the severity of the outbreak.

Unsanitary conditions in a nursing home can easily put a family member at risk for serious health problems. Patients and their families have a right to expect the nursing home to be clean and hygienic and that the residents personal hygiene needs are met. Along with food and water, hygiene is the most basic level of care that should be expected, however many nursing home residents are forced to live in filthy conditions putting their health in jeopardy.

If the lack of hygiene in a nursing home becomes more than an isolated incident, it may constitute nursing home neglect. Certainly, when residents are subject to unsanitary environments, the likelihood of developing infections or other medical complications increases. Nursing home and rehabilitative care facility residents are often unable to stand up for themselves and may endure unsanitary conditions or other types of nursing home neglect or abuse that put them at risk.  If your family member has been injured in a nursing home due to negligent care or nursing home abuse, contact the Des Moines nursing home abuse lawyers of Hemminger Law Firm for assistance at 515-283-2116.