Emergency Department Violence Stories

Table of Contents

Violence in the Emergency Department
ED Violence Overview
“I’ll kill every one of you!”
Broken glasses and concussion
"I'll meet you in the parking lot and kill you"
Abuse from patient treated in hallway
Punched by the whole family
Threatened so often I lost count
Throwing urine on everyone
Frustrated after boarding three days
Tore the door off
He threatened to shoot all of us
Behavior only acceptable in hospital
“We are abused on a regular basis”
Attacked staff and shattered glass door
Choked another patient's mom
Beat up in the ambulance bay
Aggressive threats
Too much effort to pursue justice
There's nothing we can do
Bomb threats to our facility
Unsustainable
There are constant threats
A patient threw a chair at me
Broke a police officer’s nose with a headbutt
He threatened staff, kicked holes in the wall
Ripped the sink off the wall
Pulled out a gun
Violent after seven days boarding
He bit a nurse
Reporting does not change anything
Too violent for jail
Completely swept under the rug
Large chunk of arm bitten off
Locked in restroom for safety
Safety officer unconscious
Brain injury and PTSD
He attacked the officer
Three days in a row
I don't feel safe
An incident pretty much every shift
Happens so often, nothing is done
Pregnant and assaulted, no charges
Physical and psychological trauma
Punching while strapped onto stretcher
"Assault should be a felony, but it is not"
Cursed out for doing my job
This is an everyday occurrence
Threw a chair, threw an EKG machine
Lifted off the ground by their neck
Pulled out a knife
"I know where you live"
Had security in a choke hold
Too many boarding
Assault almost every day
Spit and bit
Injured during routine triage
Tried to skewer me with IV pole
Punched for bringing them apple juice
"I'll shoot everyone here"
Gun in waiting room
We could not get to the patient
They came looking for me with a hatchet
Our safety is in our own hands
Security doesn't want to get involved
Medical team steps in to help security
My employer did nothing
Patient area with no security
Heavy medical equipment thrown
Locked in a room for safety
Patient with a knife
Bitten so hard she needed surgery
Car vandalized, nurse choked
Threatened with harm, lawsuits
BIt off large mouthful of flesh
Death threats against my family
Headbutt knocked them out cold
Tried to stab me with syringe
Nunchucks, knives and guns
Nothing came of the police reports
Death threats while trying to help
"Come to the ED and shoot everyone"
"This is supposed to be a felony "
Treated for broken rib
Attack led to brain damage
Pregnant and attacked
Threw a wheelchair at me
"I will burn this hospital to the ground"
Undoubtedly part of burnout
Hit by wet floor sign
Attacked with machete
There was no help
Sick and coughing on staff
"Too many to count"
Broken bones and bleeding
They wrote down our license plates
Attacking staff while boarding
Punched while checking vital signs
A nearly endless barrage of abuse
Patients throw printers
Intimidate me while waiting
Swinging bloody extremity
Nurse knocked out
A brawl ensued

Too many boarding

I’ve experienced many verbal attacks by angry family members of patients who are boarding in the ED. Patients are waiting too long for care because we have too many boarding.

Sometimes attacks happen after routine medical questions. I often receive threats from patients with mental illness who should not be sitting in my ED for days.

- An emergency physician from West Virginia

Had security in a choke hold

Assault almost every day

Spit and bit

We had a chronically violent and mentally ill woman who would regularly come to the ED.

Injured during routine triage

I have been attacked by multiple patients, even while simply assessing them during routine triage ov...

Tried to skewer me with IV pole

Violence against emergency physicians and staff must not be tolerated as “just part of the job.”