Patients injured four employees at Atascadero State Hospital in the 11 days following the issuance of a $27,000 fine for unsafe working conditions. [Tribune]
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health fined ASH $27,000 on November 29 for an ongoing pattern of patient assaults on employees. The next day a patient injured two employees.
Two nurses reported back and neck pain after trying to stabilize a patient around 8 p.m. on November 30. Five days later, another nurse injured her wrist while trying to stabilize a patient on December 5. And five days after that, yet another nurse suffered jaw pain after what hospital officials deemed an aggressive incident with a patient on December 10.
ASH did not release the names of the injured employees.
The state hospital received an additional $450 fine on November 29 for erasing the names of the injured employees on records submitted to the state for investigation. The $27,000 fine came as a result of a report chronicling an average of 10 patient-caused injuries per month at ASH from January to September.
