An injured care worker who needed to give up her job after being repeatedly attacked by a violent teenager has been awarded accident compensation. The local Borough Council admitted liability after it was shown that the youth should have been moved to a secure unit as soon as his violent behaviour had been identified. Instead, the teenager was able to attack the care worker five times over an eight month period before he was finally moved.
The woman, who had been working as a carer for nine years, was hit with a chair, threatened with shattered Perspex, and punched a number of times. Despite undergoing physiotherapy, she is now unable to undertake some of the tasks needed to do her job, and she may not be able to return to work.
“After I reported the first incident I thought my bosses would have this youth transferred to a secure unit which would be able to provide the correct type of care for him in a safe environment. But nothing changed and he kept on attacking me.
“It was extremely frightening going into work not knowing what he would do next and wondering how far he would take things.”
Solicitor John Mullen said: “Too often those working in caring and health environments are put in situations which make them vulnerable to assault.
“Employers have a duty of care to their staff and must take all reasonable steps to protect them from assaults at work. It is astonishing that this council allowed a series of attacks to take place before taking any action.”
