An inmate broke a nurse’s nose. OSHA blames the Florida company running the prison
A private Boca Raton company that runs prisons in Florida and other states bears $26,787 worth of responsibility for an inmate breaking a nurse’s nose with a rock, OSHA says.
The Geo Group disagrees with the Occupational Safety Health Administration assessment of what happened on May 23 at South Bay Correctional Facility, 600 U.S. 27 in Palm Beach County.
What definitely happened: An inmate attacked a nurse.
OSHA says while a nurse held a door open for an inmate in a wheelchair, another inmate used a rock to bash the nurse, breaking a nasal bone and leaving cuts on the nurse’s forehead.
“The nurse lost consciousness and the assault would have caused more severe injuries including death if an inmate/medical orderly did not remove the inmate from the employee,” the citation and notification of penalty said. “The inmate has exhibited violent behavior to the medical staff employees in the past.”
Also, OSHA said, exactly a month later, a nurse’s arm got lacerations and abrasions when an inmate grabbed the arm and held onto it when the nurse gave him medication through a door flap.
The citation says The Geo Group “did not furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees.”
Also, The Geo Group is accused of not reporting a work-related injury, causing a worker to be hospitalized, within 24 hours of the incident.
“GEO takes great exception to the OSHA report and recommended penalty related to the inmate attack on a valued member of our medical team,” a Geo Group spokesperson said in an email to the Miami Herald. “We take the safety of our employees with the utmost seriousness and have extensive policies and training regarding workplace safety at South Bay Correctional and Rehabilitation Facility, as well as every facility we manage. We intend to vigorously defend ourselves against the findings in the report.”
Since coming out of a settlement with OSHA about workplace violence hazards on Jan. 1, 2017, The GEO Group has been cited four other times:
▪ June 28, 2018: Issued a $7,391 fine after not having “a written Exposure Control Plan (in a place) where employees had occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens,” at Philadelphia’s Walker Hall.
▪ Sept. 5, 2019: $4,000 after an informal settlement down from $9,472 after South Texas Detention Complex “workers were exposed to health hazards from mold and mildew that were not kept clean and sanitary through an effective housekeeping program.”
▪ July 22, 2020: The Geo Group paid 10,965 on four violations at McFarland Female Community Reentry Facility in California after contesting all four citations and OSHA’s proposed $23,900 fine. An administrative law judge kept the proposed $8,435 fine on the lone Serious violation and slashed the proposed fines on the other three violations. That was for failing to “maintain an effective, written aerosol transmissible diseases exposure control plan.”
▪ June 15: 2022: In a still-open case, The Geo Group is fighting a $104,510 proposed OSHA fine, $101,250 coming from what’s being called a Willful violation at Golden State Annex in California, also for failing to have a written aerosol transmissible diseases exposure control plan.
As for the South Bay injury, “Workplace violence is a serious and alarming concern for healthcare workers who face a much higher risk of attacks than other workers,” Fort Lauderdale-based OSHA Area Office Director Condell Eastmond said. “Employers like The GEO Group are aware of the hazards and again failed to protect its employees. As a result, a nurse suffered a brutal and painful attack. The facility must act to protect it workers immediately.”
Workplace safety complaints can be filed online, by calling the local OSHA office or calling 800-321-6742 (OSHA).
