Personal injury advice from
Thompsons Solicitors
Compensation for Nurse Assaulted by Mentally Ill Patient
17th May 2009
In a recent case, our specialist personal injury lawyers assisted a nurse who was injured by a mentally ill patient in an assault at work.
Assaulted at Work
In the course of his work at an open mental health unit, our client was attacked by a patient after telling him that his medication would be administered shortly.
He was punched violently about the head and neck whilst sitting down and sustained whiplash injuries and concussion as a result.
Employer Negligence
The patient’s health had recently deteriorated and he was sectioned under section 3 of the Mental Health Act. A decision was also taken that his medication would be enforced against his will where necessary. No new risk assessment was carried out in light of the changes however, despite the fact that he had a history of attacking staff involved in his treatment and his medical records contained paperwork showing that it was not safe to treat him in an open unit.
Our client had begun to make arrangements for the patient to be transferred to a more secure unit, however these were not followed up on by his employer until after the incident.
Our lawyers are experts in cases involving injuries at work and were appointed to assist the injured nurse. The patient’s records were examined and the evidence showed that he should have been moved to a more secure unit. The Judge found that the delay in doing so was negligent and this posed a foreseeable risk of injury to the staff involved in his care. He found in favour of the claimant and compensation was awarded in respect of his personal injury.
Personal Injury Advice
If you have been the victim of a workplace assault, accident at work or any other accident caused by the negligence of someone else, you may be entitled to claim compensation.
At The Legal Line, our lawyers have extensive experience in all areas of personal injury and can provide you with the best possible accident claim advice. Contact us on 0800 0328511, or by completing a claim enquiry form online.
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