A nurse assaulted at work may need to report the same incident through several channels. The hospital needs an incident report. Police investigate a possible crime. The Louisiana Department of Health addresses facility compliance. An injury claim concerns medical expenses and other benefits. Each serves a different purpose, and one report should not be assumed to complete the others.
Current through October 20, 2026. Louisiana’s healthcare workplace-violence protections began with the Lynne Truxillo Act, Act 461 of 2022. Act 624 of 2024 later changed the definition of covered healthcare entities. The practical questions are who must act, which report is needed, and what records should be preserved.
Four reporting routes, with four different purposes
Scroll horizontally to see all columns. Use the arrow keys when the table is focused.
| Route | Where it goes | What it addresses |
|---|---|---|
| Internal incident report | The supervisor, security office, or other recipient designated in the facility’s prevention plan | Immediate response, workplace investigation, and a record of the event. |
| Police report | The law-enforcement agency with jurisdiction; emergency services for an immediate threat | An alleged crime and the need for emergency intervention. Internal reporting does not replace this route. |
| Facility-compliance complaint | LDH Health Standards Section for a facility within its jurisdiction | Whether the facility is complying with applicable licensing and safety requirements. |
| Workplace injury claim | The employer and its workers’ compensation insurer or administrator | Potential injury benefits. Ask for the claim contact and number; do not assume a security report opened a benefits claim. |
The statutory foundation for the first two routes is R.S. 40:2199.16 and R.S. 40:2199.17. LDH’s complaint guidance describes the compliance route. Workplace-injury coverage begins with R.S. 23:1031. None of these routes should delay emergency assistance or needed care.
The law covers more than hospitals, but coverage has limits
Under the current definition in R.S. 40:2199.12, covered entities can include licensed healthcare facilities, federally qualified health centers, permitted pharmacies, and certain healthcare-provider offices. The definition excludes a healthcare entity employing five or fewer licensed medical providers and gives examples such as physicians, pharmacists, advanced practice registered nurses, physician assistants, and dentists. An entity’s total headcount is therefore not the entire statutory inquiry.
The same section includes both battery and intentionally placing someone in reasonable fear of battery within workplace violence. A worker need not wait for a physical injury to report a threat that falls within that definition. Coverage, the conduct alleged, and the duty involved should be identified before asserting a statutory violation.
What a covered facility’s prevention plan must contain
R.S. 40:2199.15 requires an ongoing prevention plan, not merely a sign or an incident form. Its requirements include:
- At least annual training for direct-care healthcare workers, with an opportunity to ask a knowledgeable person questions.
- Procedures for responding to and investigating violent incidents, together with prevention, education, and debriefing resources.
- At least annual assessment of contributing risks, including staffing, security systems, uncontrolled access, particular units, night or early-morning shifts, and employee parking.
- A written safety and security plan available to employees, plus orientation for permanent and temporary employees.
An employee can ask where to find the plan, whom to contact during a threat, and what response is required when access controls or alarms fail. Those questions produce a more useful record than a general assertion that the hospital “should have done more.” The occurrence of an assault alone does not establish whether a particular facility complied with these duties.
The 24-hour rule is the facility’s reporting duty
R.S. 40:2199.16 requires a regulated entity to report workplace violence on its property to the proper authority as its prevention plan requires. It imposes a 24-hour reporting requirement when the incident causes injury, involves a firearm or other dangerous weapon, or presents an urgent or emergent threat to facility personnel.
That provision is not a 24-hour deadline for the injured nurse to bring a lawsuit or claim benefits. It also is not permission to postpone an emergency call. A worker should report promptly and preserve the details, while obtaining advice about the separate notice and filing rules governing any claim. Ask the facility who made the required report, to whom, and when; a police case number and an internal incident number may be different.
Employees may seek police help without prohibited retaliation
R.S. 40:2199.17 prohibits retaliation against a person who reports workplace violence in good faith. It also prohibits a regulated entity from preventing or punishing an employee’s request for emergency or law-enforcement assistance during a violent incident. Its protections address discharge, demotion, suspension, threats, harassment, and discrimination tied to lawful reporting to law enforcement.
If treatment at work changes after a report, record the sequence: when the report was made, who knew about it, what changed, and the reason the employer gave. Preserve messages and notices already lawfully available to you. Timing may warrant investigation; it does not, by itself, prove retaliation.
These healthcare-specific protections supplement other employment laws. Our guide to employment protections after filing a work-injury claim addresses the separate rules concerning a compensation claim and return to work. The legal basis, remedy, and filing deadline for an employment complaint need their own review.
How to raise a facility-compliance concern with LDH
For a hospital or other facility within its jurisdiction, LDH provides a Health Standards complaint form and submission instructions. Its complaint FAQ says anyone with knowledge of an incident may complain and recommends contacting the agency promptly, while evidence remains available. It directs people who suspect a crime to contact local law enforcement before filing the HSS complaint.
Identify the facility, unit, date, approximate time, people involved, and specific safety concern. Explain what you observed separately from what another person told you. If the issue concerns access to the prevention plan, a threat report, or a request for police help, include the relevant communications.
Health Standards investigates regulatory compliance; it does not award workers’ compensation benefits or resolve every employment dispute. Its published instructions also distinguish facility regulation from professional-board jurisdiction and billing matters. Our guide to Louisiana hospital inspection findings explains how to read deficiency records without treating an allegation or inspection finding as a complete liability determination.
Injury benefits and a lawsuit against the hospital are different questions
Under R.S. 23:1031, a covered employee’s injury must arise out of and in the course of employment. An assault while providing care may present a work-injury claim, but the circumstances still matter. The statute separately addresses disputes unrelated to employment. Agency staffing, borrowed employment, and the identity of the actual employer may also require review.
R.S. 23:1032 generally makes workers’ compensation the exclusive injury remedy against an employer and other protected persons when its requirements apply, subject to statutory exceptions, including intentional acts. An assailant’s intentional conduct should not simply be attributed to the hospital to bypass that rule. Whether the employer itself falls within an exception requires a separate factual and legal analysis.
R.S. 23:1101 preserves qualifying claims against responsible third persons outside that immunity. A potential claim against an assailant, a compensation claim, and a facility-compliance complaint can therefore involve different parties and standards. An arrest does not establish guilt, hospital fault, or entitlement to a particular recovery.
A focused record-preservation checklist
- Your account: Write a dated chronology of what happened, the location, the approximate time, and what you personally saw or heard.
- Reports: Keep confirmation of your internal report, police case number, claim number, and the names of the people who received each report.
- Witnesses and recordings: Identify witnesses and ask the appropriate custodian to preserve relevant video, access records, and incident communications before routine deletion. A preservation request does not itself entitle you to a copy.
- Your injury records: Keep your medical records, bills, work restrictions, missed-work dates, and benefit correspondence.
- Privacy and access: Do not copy unrelated patient charts or enter systems without authorization. Request preservation of relevant records through proper channels.
- Later employment decisions: Preserve schedules, written reasons, and communications concerning any change following your report.
A useful review begins with those records and the separate purpose of each reporting route. The goal is to secure assistance, preserve an accurate account, and identify which rights and deadlines apply to the worker’s circumstances.
Related research: Louisiana Legal Research.