Massachusetts Workers' Compensation Lawyer Blog
According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s blogs, many workers in the social services and health care industry are at risk of physical assault on the job. As a matter of fact, the 2013 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that over 23,000 workers sustained serious injuries from assault, with over 70% of these incidents occurring in either one of those industries. Many of these assaults could have been prevented.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has a section on its website dedicated to workplace violence that discusses such hazards and offers violence prevention plans. Workplace violence is defined as any threat or act of physical violence, intimidation, sexual assault, rape, harassment, or other threatening disruptive behavior, and may include verbal abuse and threats too. Homicide is reportedly the number four leading cause of worker deaths in the U.S. and the number one cause of death of female workers. Many incidents of worker violence go unreported.
