Disability support worker suing former employer after thumb bitten off in attack

A disability support worker who had her thumb bitten off during a horror attack by a teenage client is suing her former employer.

A disability support worker is suing her former employer after her thumb was bitten off during a violent prolonged assault by a client.

Jamie Reardon said she suffered 17 bite wounds, fractured her foot, had her hair ripped out and tip of her left thumb bitten off after being set upon by an intellectually disabled teen at an independent living facility in Warragul in March 2022.

The mother-of-one claimed the attack lasted 30 minutes, with a co-worker too afraid to intervene.

Ms Reardon, unable to return to work since the attack, is suing her former employer, Oncall, for pain and suffering and loss of earnings due to her physical and mental injuries.

Jamie Reardon was left with multiple injuries after the assault. Picture: Supplied

The tip of her left thumb was bitten off. Picture: Supplied

She said she was not told the client had a history of violence toward support workers and was placed in a potentially life-endangering situation without protective equipment such as a security alarm.

“I was not informed that my client could be potentially this violent, when left to fight for my life by my colleague I thought that I was actually going to die,” Ms Reardon said.

Ms Reardon said the attack by the 19-year-old female came without warning.

“She was biting my head, then smashing it on the ground, continuously. I continued to scream for help and for her to stop while trying to crawl and pull myself away,” she said.

Some of the bruising Jamie Reardon suffered during the incident. Picture: Supplied

Ms Reardon was admitted to hospital for four days and now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression and is unable to financially contribute to her young family.

“We now live week to week. No one ever thinks they would be attacked like this at work and made disabled,” she said.

Her lawyer, Travis Fewster of Arnold Thomas & Becker, said Ms Reardon’s “employer had no system or protocol in place to prevent such attacks from happening; or, if they did, to ensure there are safe processes to restrain the person and safely get away”.

“While she must live with the permanent physical and psychological injuries forever, we hope that by pursuing legal action we can provide Jamie with a sense of closure and make sure no one else has to go through a similar experience,” Mr Fewster said.

Ms Reardon said staff working in the disability sector required better training for dealing with challenging scenarios and thorough briefings on client behaviour.

Oncall was contacted for comment.