Violence Against Healthcare Workers

Workplace Violence against Healthcare Workers

We are learning that attacks on medical personnel are relatively common, yet go largely unreported due to a culture of silence amongst the profession.

“In the USA, 70–74% of workplace assaults occur in healthcare settings” (Violence Against Healthcare Workers: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7531183/).

The phenomenon is increasing not only in the U.S. but around the world.

The following is a case that has been filed to hold the hospital and its security team accountable for staff safety. We hope this case sheds some light on the issues and joins a trend of forcing facilities to provide medical personnel the safety protection that they deserve, especially in light of all the sacrifices they make for patients.

Our clients Attorneys Robert Nemeroff, Derek Layser and Brett Kaminsky, of the law firm Friedman Schuman, P.C., recently filed a lawsuit in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas on behalf of a physician at Pennsylvania Hospital who was stabbed in the head, face and body by a patient who had obtained a metal kitchen knife and ballpoint pen from Hospital staff. According to the lawsuit, which was brought against the Hospital, its security and the assailant, the Hospital, and its security personnel failed to adequately protect the safety and well-being of the doctor, leading to the incident. The Complaint alleges that the Hospital and its security team lacked proper safety protocols, procedures and training sufficient to prevent, or at a minimum, help mitigate the attack. This suit was the second suit filed against the Hospital and its security since 2020 involving a violent attack on a medical provider by a patient.

We hope you found this helpful. Feel free to pass it along to your friends and colleagues.

Kimm Ebersole, MHA, BSN, RN
Business Development
Kimm@OnPointLNC.com

A L W A Y S  O N P O I N T !