Distraction is usually only mentioned as a workplace danger when talking about people who drive for a living. Yet drivers are not the only employees who risk causing serious harm if they do not stay focused.
One area where distraction could be incredibly serious is healthcare, specifically doctoring and nursing.
Phone use is one cause
In the same way that drivers may struggle to ignore a ringing phone, or avoid refreshing their browser every minute to check the sports score, so too can doctors and nurses fail to resist the urge to check on something non-work related.
You might assume that doctors and nurses could leave their phones switched off when working, but hospitals often rely on having them on in case they need to contact them urgently.
Record keeping while on a busy schedule is another cause
Such is the demand on the healthcare system that staff are often led with very short windows of time for each appointment. The pressure to move on to the next patient can be exacerbated by staff shortages or events such as a pile-up on the local interstate that cause a sudden influx of patients or demand a swift change of priorities.
Thus many medical staff find themselves trying to update notes while seeing a patient, which means they cannot give the patient their full attention.
If a distracted medical professional harmed you because they were distracted, you may want to consider whether their actions could count as medical malpractice. If they do, you may be able to claim compensation.
