A nurse has been charged with violating all standards of care, and the hospital he worked for is being held liable for his actions as their employee, in a medical malpractice lawsuit filed on behalf of a 71 year-old patient that was sexually assaulted, as reported by Your Houston News and others.
Named in the suit for their gross negligence is the Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center. Two Texas law firms are representing the victim, P.A., – one that specializes in medical malpractice cases , and the other, in personal injury.
Attorney Miller Weisbrod filed the suit on January 25 in District Court.
Other charges lodged against the certified nursing assistant (CNA) included posing a severe risk of injuring P.A. while he made the deliberate decision to show indifference to her rights, safety and welfare.
Both punitive and real damages are being sought.
Weisbrod said, “That a certified nursing assistant who has been placed in a position of trust totally abuses that trust is wrong and disgusting. We have also already discovered that Tenet Healthcare System has had a similar sexual assault by one of their employees in another state. Who are they hiring?"
P.A. was admitted to the Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center for chief complaints of abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and fever. She proved to have both gastroenteritis and a urinary tract infection.
On May 3 the CNA charged with removing P.A.’s soiled adult diapers, clean her and place clean diapers back on her – sexually assaulted her instead.
On May 4 P.A. entered the emergency department of Memorial Hermann Hospital for a medical and forensic examination. The attacker’s semen was discovered.
Police were able to arrest the CNA, M.A., with the help of bodily fluids, as he hadn’t properly cleaned himself up after the assault. On September 14 he was charged with aggravated sexual assault of an elderly or disabled person.
M.A. had a previous record that included being charged with assault, evading arrest and DWI. The trial regarding P.A.’s assault will be the next time he goes to court.
Weisbrod claims that since P.A.’s assault she has had, and will continue to have, medical treatment. She currently suffers with physical pain and suffering, as well as mental anguish.
Weisbrod, in fighting Texas laws where hospitals are protected in sexual assault cases, issued a statement that read:
“People also need to be aware of how difficult the Texas Supreme Court and the legislature have made it for victims of sexual assault in hospitals to pursue lawsuits for compensation in Texas. Incredibly, Texas law now requires an expert medical opinion that sexual assault is beneath the standard of care and proximately caused injury and that report must be filed with the Court within 120 days of filing suit before the defendants can even be questioned about the case.
Failure to file such reports will result in the case for money damages being dismissed even if the defendants are guilty of criminal conduct as long as they are healthcare providers. This case underscores the special treatment for healthcare providers under current Texas law and is an example of tort reform gone too far. Anyone who is sexually assaulted should be able to file suit for just compensation and should not be trusted differently just because the assault took place in a hospital.
Texas law adds further insult to injury by capping the recovery in a sexual assault case for pain and mental anguish to $250,000 where the assault is committed by a healthcare provider. This case should be a call for action to make changes in the law so that it becomes fair for victims as opposed to excess tort reform protecting huge national health care corporations like Tenet.”
Whether you have a case of medical malpractice that occurred in the state of Texas or elsewhere, contact a medical malpractice attorney near you today for help. Monetary awards are often made for your current, and future, pain and suffering.