Husband of an assaulted ER nurse

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Hi all. My wife, and her three sisters, have been nurses for over three decades, each. I have heard all of the horror stories of overweight patients, the irate patient that thinks his/her needs are greater than the person getting coded, etc. That still did not prepare me for the reality of the 2:30AM call from my wife's supervisor in the Emergency Department that my wife had had her finger bitten off by a patient. The forum entry from 2003 about a similar incident led me here from "google", however, that forum thread had comments dated for over a year past the initial entry, but no conclusion or follow up. Now I know why.

The loss involved about a half inch of one of her fingers, which is still tender and is painful with almost any contact. The "patient" was indicted on second degree assault upon medical personnel, which is punishable with up to 10 years incarceration. The patient posted bail immediately and the indictment was a number of months ago. Since then there have been monthly hearings, but it has been almost a year and he is still a "free man". I surely hope he will be convicted and harshly sentenced, but the concept of closure is far far away. Workers Compensation Insurance has to be sued to get anything other than immediate medical bills and the pittance of compensation while out of work. You would think that the permanent loss of a part of one's anatomy would obviously be a (partial) permanent disability and they would at least make an offer before going to court, but that is not the way it is done. A civil case may follow, but it is likely to cost more than it's worth. I do not expect "closure" anytime soon, but I'll let you know the outcome as it unfolds. In the meanwhile, the hospital is starting to recognize that the customer (patient) is not always right and they are more regularly calling in the law and charging the spitters, yellers and other assaulting folk as they should have been doing all along. Having worked at a couple of large corporations, I can testify that such behavior would never be tolerated and even mild innuendo can cause a major multimillion dollar lawsuit. How have hospitals been getting away with allowing a "hostile work environment" for so long? Why has OSHA been looking the other way for them?

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i can sense your [and her]frustration

while we cannot offer any legal advise we do offer our heart felt sympathies that she had to go thru this

i believe that you are well represented by counsel and i hope that you find some resolution to this traumatic event

welcome to site, extend her our invitation to post at any time

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Want to welcome you to the site. As one who has been assaulted on the job, I hope that both you and your wife can find a peaceful resolution to this trauma. I know how hard it can be.

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Specializes in tele, oncology.

I'm so sorry for what happened to your wife. Best of luck with your ongoing legal issues, stay strong.

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The next hearing for the biter is September 21, 2009. It is quickly approaching two years since the incident. Her finger is no more useful than it was since the surgical reconstruction. It looks normal, but does not function that way. The incident happened on a Wednesday in the AM and he was out on bail by Friday morning and has not seen a cell since then. The wheels of justice move awfully slow.

By the way, my wife woke up from surgery to see her supervisor and manager, not her husband who was in the waiting room. I guess HIPA is for the public, not the hospital employees.

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Wow, what a shame that this much time has passed without resolution. Recently in the news section was an article about the percentage of ER nurses who have been injured on the job, which, by general consensus, should be a much higher percentage.

You are absolutely right that it is not tolerated outside of healthcare. Strong advocacy is sorely needed to better ensure the safety of nurses on the job.

https://allnurses.com/nursing-news/more-than-half-414147.html

I hope this comes to a resolution sometime soon for you and your wife's sake.

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Specializes in Emergency Department/Trauma.

Don't expect much from the legal system. My wife was head-butted by a person that was in for an overdose (cocaine and Xanax, and of course alcohol). The patient was then tazed by law enforcement and properly restrained. He was charged with the same, second degree felony battery on medical personnel. Our lovely legal system though decided it would be a waste of the court's time to pursue this as he has no previous record (never been caught, and I guess they neglected to consider the illegal drug use), so he received pre-trial diversion where he will not be charged with anything as long as he is a good boy for 6 months. On top of all of that though is some of the ER nurses had the audacity to document that the police used excessive force by tazing the patient. Sometimes it really makes me question how people think. I do agree it was wrong tazing the perp, they should have shot him.

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I'm so sorry about your wife. Any injury like the one she's suffered would be a constant reminder of what happened, especially since it's still so sore and difficult to use. I hope she's able to recover soon.

Part of the problem is the hoops we have to jump through to restrain patients. Drunks and druggies often get the benefit of the doubt because of the paperwork and supervision involved in starting and keeping difficult patients in restraints. We usually have security hovering over patients in lieu of leathers because it's easier than the paperwork, but it aggravates the patients just as much and makes them as dangerous and difficult. Nurses who are concerned for their safety should be able to work around patients for their benefit without worrying about being injured.:banghead:

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Specializes in NICU, Post-partum.
Hi all. My wife, and her three sisters, have been nurses for over three decades, each. I have heard all of the horror stories of overweight patients, the irate patient that thinks his/her needs are greater than the person getting coded, etc. That still did not prepare me for the reality of the 2:30AM call from my wife's supervisor in the Emergency Department that my wife had had her finger bitten off by a patient. The forum entry from 2003 about a similar incident led me here from "google", however, that forum thread had comments dated for over a year past the initial entry, but no conclusion or follow up. Now I know why.

The loss involved about a half inch of one of her fingers, which is still tender and is painful with almost any contact. The "patient" was indicted on second degree assault upon medical personnel, which is punishable with up to 10 years incarceration. The patient posted bail immediately and the indictment was a number of months ago. Since then there have been monthly hearings, but it has been almost a year and he is still a "free man". I surely hope he will be convicted and harshly sentenced, but the concept of closure is far far away. Workers Compensation Insurance has to be sued to get anything other than immediate medical bills and the pittance of compensation while out of work. You would think that the permanent loss of a part of one's anatomy would obviously be a (partial) permanent disability and they would at least make an offer before going to court, but that is not the way it is done. A civil case may follow, but it is likely to cost more than it's worth. I do not expect "closure" anytime soon, but I'll let you know the outcome as it unfolds. In the meanwhile, the hospital is starting to recognize that the customer (patient) is not always right and they are more regularly calling in the law and charging the spitters, yellers and other assaulting folk as they should have been doing all along. Having worked at a couple of large corporations, I can testify that such behavior would never be tolerated and even mild innuendo can cause a major multimillion dollar lawsuit. How have hospitals been getting away with allowing a "hostile work environment" for so long? Why has OSHA been looking the other way for them?

I am very, very sorry for the battery that your wife endured.

However, I have to say that I do not agree that the loss of a partial digit would render someone unable to work and therefore, subject to financial compensation for the rest of one's life.

We have a nurse that sustained a car accident three years ago and lost three fingers on one of her hands.

She can still do everything that she did before.

We also have a surgeon that is missing one of his hands due to a childhood accident.

She is only as limited as much as she chooses to be.

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Specializes in ED, ICU, PSYCH, PP, CEN.

I'm so sorry for what you and your wife are going through. One of our techs was punched in the eye by a woman who had been discharged and she was simply trying to redirect her to the right exit door.

The woman was arrested, but it has been 3 years now with no resolution. In the meantime the tech has permanent vision loss in that eye.

I have worked in the ER for 5 years now. Learned early to always stay an arms length away from patients until you are sure they are safe. Unfortunately, they can and do turn on you at any time.

So far, no serious problems for me, just the usual kicked/hit at but they missed, and spit on, and one patient even tried to pee on me.

You have come to the right place for education and emotional assistance. We are here for you.

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Specializes in ED, ICU, PSYCH, PP, CEN.

Baby Lady,

It is true that the loss of one finger may not keep someone from working. However this person needs time and perhaps counselling to get past the fears she will now have due to this attack.

I do feel that she is due assistance both emotionally and financially to recover. You may not put much stock in one finger, but I think you might if it had happened to you.

I am the survivor of a serious accident that left me unable to walk for 3 years. I had several surgeries and therapy and have a good, partial recovery that allows me to work. I continually press myself to do more, and my personal best was 9 twelve hours shifts in a row.

So having survived that and gone back to work I feel that I have a right to say that a finger may be just as devastating and not everyone can just say

"oh, it's just a finger" and go right back to work.

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Specializes in NICU, Post-partum.
Baby Lady,

It is true that the loss of one finger may not keep someone from working. However this person needs time and perhaps counselling to get past the fears she will now have due to this attack.

I do feel that she is due assistance both emotionally and financially to recover. You may not put much stock in one finger, but I think you might if it had happened to you.

I am the survivor of a serious accident that left me unable to walk for 3 years. I had several surgeries and therapy and have a good, partial recovery that allows me to work. I continually press myself to do more, and my personal best was 9 twelve hours shifts in a row.

So having survived that and gone back to work I feel that I have a right to say that a finger may be just as devastating and not everyone can just say

"oh, it's just a finger" and go right back to work.

I never stated that the OP's wife didn't need counseling.

I never stated that she didn't need support or time off from work...workman's comp SHOULD pay for that.

I never stated that the ******* that did it doesn't deserve to go to prison and serve serious time...every day he is on the street puts the public at risk.

I was specifically referring to the portion of his post where he felt that losing a partial digit (1/2") was a permanent disability....keyword: Disability.

Absolutely, no question that it's a disfigurement, and I consider it to be a serious one....but my point is that it did not equal a permanent disability.

People that have been the vicitms of car accidents or any type of serious injury need time to mourn what happened, their trauma and their loss.

But part of the healing process is keeping it into perspective and seeing what you can do and looking at the injury realistically. It's one thing if you are a trained nurse and are in an accident that paralyzes you from the neck down...but it's quite another to have an injury or disfigurement that either does not or minimally impacts your ability to work.

Please don't read more into what I wrote, than what I wrote.

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