The direct cost from settlements and insurance to a healthcare organization when responding to the injury or death of an employee from violence is substantial. Above and beyond payment of workers’ compensation claims, liability claims for failure to provide a safe workplace are also expensive to litigate, regardless of merit, and may well result in substantial settlements.
Then there are the fines or penalties. Looking at healthcare specifically, for example, OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) fined facilities in Pennsylvania ($32,000+), Florida ($71,000+), and Massachusetts ($207,000) for making employees and patients vulnerable to injuries from punches, kicks, bites, scratches, hair or extremity pulling, and objects used as weapons by patients.