If You're a Correctional Officer Assaulted by an Inmate, Call a Fierce Work Comp Attorney
Correctional officers face the risk of a workplace injury every day, often as a result of inmate violence. If they are hurt on the job, correctional officers deserve workers' compensation benefits. But the claims process can be difficult to navigate. An experienced workers' compensation attorney at The Law Offices of Deborah G. Kohl can help.
Though we usually think of assault and battery as a violent attack that happens in dark alleys, deserted stairwells and empty parking lots, it can also happen in prisons, jails, intake centers and other correctional facilities. The headlines in Rhode Island and Massachusetts show that correctional officers are assaulted by inmates with increasing frequency. In Cranston, RI, a lieutenant and two correctional officers were violently assaulted as they were processing an inmate. The injured officers were bitten and threatened, causing the facility to go into lock-down, the second such disciplinary action taken due to inmate violence. In a period of one month, 16 unarmed correctional officers were hospitalized after being punched, kicked and nearly stabbed at a maximum-security correctional center in Shirley, MA. You may have come to this page because you were injured by dangerous prisoners, and are seeking the tough legal representation you need to recover-physically, emotionally and financially. Rest assured, you've come to the right place.
Attacked by a Violent Inmate While Working at a Jail or Prison? Let Us Protect Your Justice!
We have great respect and compassion for hard-working correctional officers and we fight hard to pursue the justice and dignity they deserve. Sadly, we get many calls from injured jail cops, security guards, wardens, other law enforcement workers who were attacked by inmates. The range of injuries for those whose job it is to transport, process and guard inmates is varied. If you are a correctional officer, you may have been:
- jumped by a state prison inmate after confiscating contraband
- beaten by county jail inmates during a jail cell search
- assaulted by a violent prisoner with a homemade weapon
- shot by an inmate with a concealed weapon at an intake facility
- stabbed by a convict in a minimum security correctional center prison yard
Anyone who was attacked while working in a correctional institution may find the process of making a Workers' Compensation benefits claim particularly challenging. When your career is centered on protecting others and you are trained to use a gun and other firearms in self-defense, to subdue aggressive inmates and keep members of the public safe, just admitting that you were hurt by a convicted criminal can be difficult. Filing an application for Workers Compensation benefits for your jail job-related injuries can be even more daunting, as it requires meticulous attention to detail and thorough information about your job duties, the injuries caused by an inmate, both physical and emotional, and how your overall quality of life may have been impacted. Writing all this out clearly and candidly can be extremely difficult. That's where we come in. Call us today to learn more about who we represent and how we can work hard for your rights.
Inmate Attacks Can Be Devastating - We Can Help
Sometimes it's not only the perpetrator we can go after as your Work Comp attorney, but the correctional facility itself. If the prison where you work has inadequate gates, doors, locks, closed-circuit security cameras or wardens not properly monitoring jail inmates, the liability insurance of the Rhode Island or Massachusetts Department of Corrections, Houses of Correction, state jails or county jails could be responsible. We will work hard to ensure that you get the settlement you need to cover medical expenses, vocational rehabilitation and lost wages.
If you are a correctional officer, police officer, sheriff, deputy sheriff or other member of law enforcement who was injured by an inmate, call a workers' compensation attorney at the Law Offices of Deborah G. Kohl today at (508)677-4900 or contact us online for a free case evaluation. Every conversation is confidential and personalized, and you pay nothing unless you win. We help assault victims working in jails and prisons in cities throughout Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts, including Boston, Bridgewater, Norfolk, Walpole and Cranston.