The plaintiff, age sixty-two, was a patient at the defendant hospital in October 2003. She was partially paralyzed by a stroke. During her hospitalization the plaintiff was sexually assaulted by a nurse, an employee of a medical staffing service. The plaintiff was conscious at the time of the assault and was fully aware of what happened. Her physical condition made it difficult for her to communicate.

The nurse was convicted on a felony count of sexual assault of a disabled person and sentenced to twenty years in prison. The plaintiff alleged negligence in the hiring and monitoring of the nurse, maintaining that another patient had accused the nurse of a similar sexual assault three months earlier. The hospital claimed that it had investigated the earlier complaint, and cleared the nurse of the incident before returning him to work. The staffing company also denied any negligence, maintaining that the nurse had cleared background checks which had been conducted at various times.

According to a published account, a settlement was reached with the hospital for $325,000 and the staffing company then settled for $900,000.

With permission from Medical Malpractice Verdicts, Settlements & Experts; Lewis Laska, Editor, 901 Church St., Nashville, TN 37203-3411, 1-800-298-6288.