State law provides for a three-year prison sentence and $6,000 fine against those who harm law enforcement officials. But those convicted of assaulting nurses, doctors, firefighters and emergency medical technicians get two-year sentences and $4,000 fines. According to a recent Star Tribune analysis, nurses are being attacked in record numbers. This year, nurses have filed 46 workers' compensation claims for attacks and intentional injuries suffered while on duty in hospitals, the analysis found. The number of attacks is on pace to double that of 2012 and 2013. The problem goes beyond Minnesota. A 2011 U.S. Justice Department study found that more than 400,000 nurses and other health care professionals are the victims of violent crimes in the workplace every year.
