Rising Assaults and Rapes in Hospitals

In the nineties, a Joint Commission adopted a formal Sentinel event policy with the goal of helping hospitals manage certain serious events. Recently, the Joint Commission reported that there had been an alarming increase in rape and assault in medical facilities and hospitals, and it released evidence to that effect. Sentinel events are patient safety events that aren’t mostly related to a natural progression of illness that results in severe harm, permanent harm, or death. Assault, rape, sexual assault and homicide were the third most common sentinel events in the first half of 2023. If you experienced assault or rape in a hospital setting, you should call the seasoned Chicago-based trial attorneys of Moll Law Group to find out your legal options.

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Hospitals and healthcare organizations are expected to provide safety to both patients and providers when treatment and care are being administered. Unfortunately, sentinel events do occur and can cause serious injury or even death. The Joint Commission issued a list of suggested actions that a health care institution could take to stop rape, and assault. If you were onsite in a hospital or healthcare setting and you were either offering or receiving medical care or were a visitor, any of the following would be a sentinel event: sexual abuse or assault of either a patient or a provider; physical assault of a patient being cared for; homicide of a staff person, licensed independent practitioner, vendor, or visitor; homicide of a patient receiving services and treatment.

Many safety problems could lead to frightening sentinel events including poor hiring practices and failure to conduct background checks; failure to develop adequate policies for responding to workplace violence; lack of training so that staff could properly respond to agitated and potentially violent patients; inadequate responses to reported security problems; poor mental health vetting of healthcare providers and on the other side of that not identifying patient mental health issues.

The precise circumstances dictate whether compensation can be sought after a sentinel event that causes you injuries. Sexual abuse can be addressed through a criminal prosecution, as well as a civil lawsuit; these are separate legal procedures. With a criminal prosecution, however, it is unlikely that any restitution that may be awarded to you as a victim will truly address the scope of losses you sustained as result of sexual assault or rape. In a civil lawsuit, our attorneys would need to prove: (1) sexual conduct and (2) no consent. Actions that may be construed as sexual conduct include sexual touching that’s done in order to sexually gratify or arouse. Accidental touching doesn’t count. While the perpetrator of the abuse may be a defendant, it’s important to retain lawyers who investigate whether third parties should be held responsible for the sentinel event.

When we are able to establish liability, we may be able to recover compensatory damages or punitive damages on your behalf, based on the losses you suffered as a result of the assault or rape.

If you or a loved one were assaulted or raped in a hospital setting, call the seasoned Chicago-based trial attorneys of Moll Law Group for a consultation. We provide knowledgeable and trustworthy legal representation to injured plaintiffs and grieving families across the country. Billions have been recovered in the lawsuits with which we’ve had involvement. Please complete our online form or call us at 312.462.1700.