The "Small" Incident That Threatens Your Business

A man walks into your office, already irritated.

He argues with your front‑desk staff about a bill. He gets louder, and steps closer.

Feeling threatened, one of your employees asks him to leave.

Another visitor sees what’s going on, and trying to calm the situation approaches the agitated man.

Instead of calming down, the agitated man screams at him “mind your own damn business”. Turning to go, he shoves a chair into the other visitor’s leg, bumps your employee’s shoulder, and yells “you’ll regret this.”

People in the waiting area look up from their phones, but afraid of setting the man off further, avoid looking at him.  

It feels unpleasant, but minor. Your employees go back to work.

Someone writes a quick note in an email. But that’s it.
No one calls 911. No one writes a report or documents the incident in a violent incident log.

Three weeks later, you receive a letter from an attorney representing the other visitor claiming that he sustained injuries when the agitated man slammed a chair into him. 

The lawyers asks for a copies of your insurance declaration page, your violent incident log, and of any reports regarding the incident. 

But that’s just the start…

The employee who was bumped and screamed at, rattled by the incident has since called in sick multiple times, leaving you short-handed. 

And then you get a notice from a worker’s comp attorney claiming your employee suffered psychiatric injuries from the psychological stress of the incident.

Now, that “small” incident is being described as:

• An unsafe workplace
• Failure to protect staff from a known risk
• Emotional distress and physical injury

And not only will there be a workers’ comp claim, but the attorney is weighing seeking a 50% penalty for “serious and willful conduct”. And that’s not covered by insurance.

Over the course of 30 + years, I worked on a lot of third-party lawsuits against employers, large and small, when violent incidents occurred at their workplace. And even some cases where we pursued civil damages beyond workers’ comp. 

I also conducted internal investigations for employers regarding violent incidents, and served as a consultant for plaintiff attorneys assessing internal investigations conducted by employers.

When I was hired as a consultant by plaintiff lawyers, I looked for answers to questions like:

• Did this employer have a workplace violence prevention plan that identified specific workplace violence safety hazards that employees faced, and detailed what staff should do to minimize those safety hazards?
• Had front‑desk staff or managers ever been trained on threats, aggression, and violent behavior?
• Is there any incident report or documentation beyond a vague email?
• Did the employer follow up in a way that looks reasonable and consistent?

If the answer to those questions was “no” or “sort of,” that small incident got a lot more expensive for the employer.

For small California businesses, this is even more important now.

California’s new workplace violence prevention law requires EVERY employer with public access and employees to have a real plan, training, and documentation system. And that’s true regardless of the number of employees, or whether you’ve had any prior incidents.

And workplace violence isn’t just about how your employees behave towards each other. Roughly 75% of workplace violence incidents involve the public, clients, customers, patients, vendors, or people employees are connected to outside of work.

Three quick questions to ask yourself today:

• If something like this happened tomorrow, do you have a clear written plan that says what your staff and managers should do?
• Could you prove, on paper, who’s been trained, and the types of training they received on threats, aggression, and violent behavior?
• Would you have a clean incident report and follow‑up record that looks reasonable if a regulator, insurer, or plaintiff attorney asked to see it?

If you’re not confident in your answers, you’re not alone. Most small employers are in the same spot.

That’s exactly why I offer a free 15‑minute California Workplace Violence Compliance & Safety Snapshot. 

In 15 minutes, we:

• Look at your current policies, training, and documentation at a high level
• Flag your top risks under California’s workplace violence law
• Give you 1–2 practical steps to move toward being both compliant and defensible

If you’d like that quick read on where you stand, you can schedule a call here.