Court Dismisses Patient's Claim of Sexual Assault Against New York City Hospital
March 20, 2001

A claim by a patient at Beth Israel Medical Center, that she was sexually assaulted while under anesthesia following a surgical procedure, has been dismissed as a result of the hospital's motion for summary judgment. In Entel v. Beth Israel Hospital (116443/98), the plaintiff alleged that Beth Israel was negligent in rendering medical treatment, failing to provide proper security, and in hiring her purported attacker. She also attempted to rely on the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur.

In dismissing plaintiff's claims, Justice Louise Gruner Gans of the Supreme Court, New York County held that the plaintiff, who noticed no signs of a sexual assault until after her discharge from Beth Israel, and who did not report the incident until two days after her discharge, failed to establish negligence on the part of the hospital since she failed to prove when and where the alleged assault occurred, who committed it, or that any prior similar accidents had occurred at the facility. Since the plaintiff was not able to establish that the alleged assault occurred at Beth Israel, she could not establish the requisite control to prove that res ipsa loquitur applied. Finally, the court found that the plaintiff failed to establish her claim of negligent hiring since she did not know who committed the alleged assault.

(Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.)