The Denver-based federal appeals court agreed earlier this month that the government properly cited and penalized a Colorado Springs psychiatric hospital for failing to protect its staff from known risks posed by patients.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspected Cedar Springs Hospital in 2019. OSHA then issued a citation alleging that Cedar Springs violated the federal law requiring employers to maintain workplaces “free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm” to employees.
Subsequently, an administrative law judge found there were multiple, feasible mitigation measures that Cedar Springs could implement to address the numerous instances of patient-on-staff violence. He imposed a $13,494 penalty, plus an additional $1,928 for Cedar Springs’ record-keeping violations…