A health care coordinator, Stephanie Ross, had been working with a client for three months when he stabbed her to death outside of his home in 2012. The patient had a criminal past and a mental illness and the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission claimed that her employer (then called Integra Health Management but now called Integra ServiceConnect LLC) failed to protect her from hazards on the job.

Part of Ross’ job was to work with Medicaid patients who had chronic conditions to try and keep them on track with their treatment, taking them to doctor’s appointments and monitoring if they were taking their medications. She visited clients in their homes or transported them around in her car. She had indicated in her notes about this particular client that she did not feel comfortable being alone with him, and that in the future it would be a good idea for two coordinators to visit him.

After her death OSHA launched an investigation and found that this particular client had a history of mental illness like paranoia and schizophrenia, as well as violent and criminal behaviors. Other Integra employees had been threatened or assaulted by various patients before and the company did not do anything about it or take steps to protect future issues. They did not report Ross’ death to OSHA.

There was no written program in place to prevent violent hazards on the job and the company did not protect their employees. There are certain safety precautions companies can utilize like having two workers go to home visits or even having a police escort. These efforts can be expensive and some companies do not comply until it’s too late.

The company received two serious citations for failing to protect their employees from workplace violence, and for failing to report her death.

The company contested the findings but Judge Dennis Phillips sided with OSHA and said their safety measures were not up to par and they should have taken more precautions. This is a tragedy for sure and the patient was evidently very dangerous. I hope that in the future this company and other companies like them use the utmost precaution when dealing with dangerous clients so that workers stay safe.