THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL 42 | MARCH 2026 Statements or opinions expressed in the Oklahoma Bar Journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Oklahoma Bar Association, its officers, Board of Governors, Board of Editors or staff. Medical Care Provider Protection Act (Senate Bill 1290) in 2020. Legislative notes accompanying the 2020 amendments recognized, “In Oklahoma City hospitals alone, between five and 10 assaults are reported every day, but it’s a problem that impacts health care workers throughout the state.” The notes further stated, “An estimated 75% of all workplace violence [in Oklahoma] occurs in health care.” The law makes it a felony to assault, batter or commit assault and battery against medical care providers (including doctors, nurses, emergency medical technicians, hospital staff and others) while they are performing their medical duties. Violations carry penalties of up to two years in prison and/or a $1,000 fine. For aggravated assault and battery or assault with a firearm or deadly weapon, Section 650.5 imposes enhanced penalties of two to five years imprisonment and/or a $1,000 fine. Other states have taken varied approaches to this issue. Thirty states have enacted laws requiring workplace violence prevention programs, while 29 states have passed or are considering legislation allowing hospitals to establish independent police forces. Alaska has implemented mandatory minimum sentences for assault on medical professionals, and Michigan has doubled penalties for such assaults. Despite these state-level efforts, no federal law currently protects health care workers from workplace violence. WORKERS’ COMPENSATION: AN INADEQUATE RESPONSE When nurses in Oklahoma are assaulted, the cases typically fall under workers’ compensation rather than criminal prosecution. Under Oklahoma law, injured nurses receive only 70% of their average weekly wage – an amount that fails to account for shift bonuses, shift differentials between night and day shifts and compensation for credentials and patient acuity. This results in financial hardship on top of the physical and psychological trauma caused by the assault. This stands in stark contrast to the protections afforded to other professions facing workplace violence. Police officers, firefighters, military personnel and political officials are protected by laws that make assaulting them in the line of duty a felony, with violators typically prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Some states have recognized this disparity. California and New York, for example, provide more robust compensation for law enforcement officers who are injured in the line of duty. Oklahoma has recently taken steps to enhance workers’ compensation for certain first responders. Beginning in 2025, S.B. 1457 provides special workers’ compensation benefits for police officers, professional and volunteer firefighters and emergency medical technicians diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) connected to “responding to an emergency.” The law defines the covered PTSD issues as “symptoms connected to witnessing or experiencing near-death, death, or threats to the physical integrity of others involving helplessness or horror.” Benefits include up to 52 weeks of paid recovery time, medical treatment for PTSD, up to an additional $50,000 in benefits, up to $10,000 in prescription coverage and job protection. Additionally, an aspect of this law expansion requires employers to maintain health benefits when an employee is unable to return to work. Notably, nurses are excluded from these enhanced protections despite facing similar traumatic exposures in their daily work. THE CULTURE OF ACCEPTANCE AND UNDERREPORTING Nursing has become one of the few professions where violence is not only tolerated but expected as part of the job. This normalization sends a dangerous message that places implicit fault on nurses rather than on aggressors or the systems that fail to protect health care workers. When assaults occur and law enforcement declines to prosecute, it reinforces the perception that violence against nurses will rarely rise to a level requiring system-wide change. Underreporting is a critical factor in the lack of effective interventions. Nurses report incidents through proper channels, but when nothing changes, they become discouraged and stop reporting altogether – a phenomenon known as learned helplessness. As one expert describes it, learned helplessness is “symbolized by battle fatigue, that moment when an issue is raised, people’s eyes glaze over, and they say, ‘You know what? We’ve had that issue forever and there is really nothing we can do about it. We just have to learn to live with it.’”10 Underreporting also stems from a lack of knowledge about workplace policies and uncertainty among administrators about how to pursue action against perpetrators.11 When 80% of incidents are suspected to go unreported, the health care industry lacks the
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