In its annual report on Occupational Injuries and Illnesses , the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports women were the primary victims of violence in the workplace, accounting for nearly three-fifths of the 20,000 nonfatal assaults on the job in 1994 serious enough to result in absence from work. In fact, more nursing aids, health aids, health technicians, social workers, and nurses were assaulted on the job in 1992 than police officers or jailers. In order to evaluate its exposure of violence, each employer must be aware of its premises and criminal liability exposures. If an assault was foreseeable, liability may be assigned to the property owner.
Every workplace is a potential location for violence.
Training programs and policies must be established and put into practice in order to prepare for a possible violent act. With the Washington State study showing a 35 percent increase in assault and violence-related workers compensation claims between 1988 and 1992, that training effort should pay off in the long run. In a Nutshell by Critical Incident Associates. The Everyday Face of Workplace Violence. Martin, Laurie and Donna Tona.