Ohio Outpatient Facility to Pay $16K Settlement After Patient Stabbed Nurse

An Ohio outpatient mental health treatment facility has agreed to pay a $16,000 settlement and take numerous steps to improve workplace safety after a patient attacked a nurse practitioner violently in April 2024.

Responding to the incident, investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration learned the patient stabbed an employee repeatedly with a knife the patient brought into a Signature Health Inc. facility in Maple Heights. Despite the risk of injury, the facility’s lone security guard and other co-workers were able to stop the attack from continuing.

Signature Health said has implemented actions at the Maple Heights facility and will expand this program to all its facilities corporate-wide. Signature Health will install weapons detection equipment, hire risk consultation specialists to review its procedures and establish workplace violence committees, among other measures.

Source: OSHA