The US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined that a Texas hospital 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. 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.
