Texas Children’s Hospital Facing OSHA Fines, for Failing to Protect Employees Against Violent Attacks, After Assault on a Security Officer

RISKAlert #1735????? ??June 9, 2023 Houston, Texas

Texas Children’s Hospital Facing $15K in Fines, by DOL’s OSHA for Failing to Protect Employees Against Violent Attacks, After A Vicious Assault on a Security Officer by a Patient and Other Violent Incidents.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s?Occupational Safety and Health Administration?determined that Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, Texas exposed employees who worked with patients with behavioral health issues to physical threats and assaults. On Nov. 10, 2022, an aggressive patient pulled a security officer to the ground by the hair and kicked them repeatedly in the chest and abdomen. The officer, who was responding to an alert, lost consciousness, was taken to the emergency room and hospitalized.

An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found 15 incidents of patient-against-employee violence last year at the Houston-based pediatric hospital. OSHA found the employer had inadequate policies and procedures to protect employees from physical assaults by patients who exhibited violent behavior during medical surveillance and treatment. OSHA has proposed penalties of $15,625.

“Workplace violence is an increasing problem for healthcare workers. The incident in this investigation is one of many recent attacks by patients against industry workers,” said OSHA Area Director Mark Briggs in Houston. “Healthcare employers must protect their employees, particularly those in contact with aggressive or potentially aggressive patients, from the danger of being attacked by a patient. Employers must have certain effective policies and procedures in place so employees don’t have to work in fear of their safety.”

OSHA also listed several recommendations for potential abatement actions for the hospital in its citation, including more rigorous patient assessments and employee training, a system for tracking and investigating incidents of violence, hiring a workplace violence coordinator and enhancing staff communication through measures such as placing panic buttons in patient rooms.

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