"unprovoked, senseless violence" and said "more must be done" to make healthcare workplaces safer. "No healthcare worker should ever have to experience such violence," Jason Kimbrell said in an email to the Palms West staff in his first public comments on the incident that broke "essentially every bone" in Leelamma Lal's face and may cost the 21-year Palms West employee her eyesight.

Leelamma Lal, a 67-year-old nurse at HCA Florida Palms West Hospital, may lose her eyesight as a result of the beating she sustained on Feb. 18.

The children of Leelama Lal, 67, of Royal Palm Beach faulted the lack of security they say led to the beating and may leave their mother blind.

The attorneys for a man accused in the brutal attack of a Palm Beach County nurse said their client is a "hardworking, loving husband" who is affected by mental illness.