What protection right do I have working at a mental hospital
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What protection right do I have working at a mental hospital
Was targeted by a patient and I asked to move off of my unit which at
first I was moved but was sent right back to the unit where the
patient that was targeting me was and there excuse was they didn’t
have a another male staff to switch with me when they could’ve
switched me out a male or a female staff
Asked on April 19, 2018 under Employment Labor Law, Texas
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
If you are injured at work due to this known risk, then you could file a lawsuit against your employer based on its negligence to protect you in the workplace. However, in order to bring a case you would have to suffer an actual harm; threat of harm would not be enough. In the meantime, your employer can assign you to work wherever it sees fit unless you have a say in your assignments under the terms of a union agreement or employment contract.
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
Your employer has the right to assign you whatever work or unit they wish; they do not have accommodate your request to switch to a different unit (or shift or job, etc.). IF you are injured by the patient you warned them about after having warned them, you may be able to recover compensation from them (i.e. sue them), since it would typically be negligent, or unreasonably careless, to leave you exposed to an identified risk or threat; however, you cannot make them proactively take steps to protect you--all you can do is sue them if they fail to protect you and you are injured.
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