When Hospitals Fail: The Rising Cases of Assault and Negligence in Medical Settings

Patients have a lot of logical things to worry about when they’re admitted to a hospital or any medical facility. There is an expectation that doctors and other staff members will diagnose their injuries and ailments and provide the best medical care possible. They should never have to worry about being sexually assaulted or violated. Yet, all too often, hospitals fail to protect their patients from these devastating assaults.

An illustrative example of sexual assaults in medical settings

NBC News reported in November 2024 how one elderly patient was repeatedly sexually assaulted by a male nurse while conducting an EKG examination in a private emergency room. The nurse entered the patient’s room 28 times in a four-hour span – based on a hospital video that NBC News reviewed. Despite her complaints to the Florida Citrus Hospital staff, the hospital not only failed to intervene – they made the patient feel terrible for complaining.

Even after the patient’s longtime therapist intervened by contacting an abuse center about the sexual assaults, the hospital waited six hours to contact the police. By that time, the evidence in the private emergency room had been altered.

The staff member was eventually found guilty of sexual assault. In addition to criminal charges that led to a 20-year sentence for the assailant, a jury in 2024 awarded the patient $25 million against the hospital. According to the patient’s lawyer, “Hospital protocol on sexual assault is not written with the patient in mind.” Instead, these policies are “designed to protect the profits.”

Another male nurse at the same hospital is serving a 65-month sentence for sexual battery for another incident.

How serious are sexual assault and violence in hospitals?

The negligent hospital is owned by HCA Healthcare, which has 187 hospitals, 46 of which are in Florida alone. During the first three quarters of 2024, HCA earned $4.3 billion.

“Violent crime in hospitals is up, according to a 2023 report from The Joint Commission, a nonprofit organization that works to improve U.S. health care by accrediting and evaluating facilities.”

The number of hospital-reported incidents of rape, sexual assault, assault, and homicide at the hospitals reviewed rose by 77% during the two years involved in the Joint Commission study. “Half of these unconscionable acts were patient-on-patient, 28% were staff-on-patient, and 13% patient-on-staff.”

According to the Joint Commission, 2023 was the first year in which “the assault, rape, sexual assault, and homicide grouping was among the top five patient safety events reported by hospitals.”

What’s frightening is that the Joint Commission study only includes incidents that the hospital reports. Many patients do not file complaints with the hospitals, the police, or protective agencies such as RAINN (Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network).

Why should hospitals be accountable for sexual assaults?

It’s no excuse to put all the blame for sexual assaults on the assailant. There are many steps hospitals can and should take to prevent sexual assaults from occurring and to stop sexual assaults from continuing once there is a complaint or knowledge of the assault. When hospitals fail to take these precautions, they should be held accountable for the injuries, trauma, and unconscionable acts of any assailants in their facilities, such as staff members.

Hospitals may be liable for sexual assault by any of their employees, contractors, or anyone who they grant access to their facilities. Some of the steps hospitals should take to prevent patients include:

• Conducting background examinations of their workers.
• Training workers about how to recognize and respond to sexual assaults
• Explaining the clear lines between proper touching and physical contact and improper contact.
• Having confidential reporting systems in place so patients and their families can report instances of sexual assault.
• Providing psychological and emotional counseling for any patient who does suffer sexual assault as a patient

Hospitals need to do more than just have policies and procedures in place to monitor possible acts of sexual assault and to preserve evidence of sexual assault, such as DNA evidence, clothing, and linen. They need to comply with those policies.

In the illustrative example, HCA Florida Citrus Hospital did have a policy with 26 actions to implement when there is an allegation of sexual assault. Some of these policies included:

• Ensuring the safety of the patient
• Notifying the hospital’s executive, the patient’s family, and any representatives of the patient
• Completing an incident report that includes the patient’s statement and the statements of witnesses
• Connecting the patient with a rape crisis hotline number
• Preserving any surveillance video

Some of the critical steps on the 26-point checklist that the hospital did not comply with include:

• Immediately suspended the accused worker
• Alerting the “hospital’s marketing department “in case of any social media or media attention.”
• Notifying law enforcement

In the Florida hospital sexual assault case, a detective, Ryan Brown, who works in the “special victims unit of the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office investigating sex crimes,” found many problems with the hospital’s actions, including:

• Allowing the altering of the crime scene
• Trying to be present during his interview of the patient – which can intimidate complainants
• Failing to treat the patient with respect in other ways

The NBC report discussed how the policies for responding to assaults at Veterans Affairs hospitals nationwide are much more non-judgmental and effective.

How experienced sexual assault lawyers help victims

At Paulson & Nace, PLLC, our lawyers coordinate your claim with any criminal charges against the assailant. We determine who the owners of the medical facility are and then:

• Conduct a thorough investigation that includes questioning everyone with knowledge of the assault
• Review any video evidence
• Examine the physical evidence (such as the patient’s injuries)
• Examine what protocols were in place to protect the patient (and what protocols weren’t in place)
• Use many other steps to show why a hospital, medical facility, or medical practice should be held accountable.

Our Washington DC attorneys work with independent doctors to show what physical and emotional injuries the patient has, what treatments will be necessary, how their trauma is affecting every aspect of their lives and the cost of the medical care they’ll need.

Our personal injury lawyers demand full compensation for our client’s financial and personal damages.

Please contact Paulson & Nace, PLLC, through this contact form or by calling our office.