Legal Question in Medical Malpractice in Ohio

My mother had head surgery at UC hospital, and the following day was recovering in her room when a black stranger entered her room during the afternoon. My mother was still going in and out from surgery and was startled when she saw the man going through her things. She asked him what are you doing and he replied praying for you. The man continued to go through her things and he even got in her face and said what's wrong with you.

My mother called the nurse and the man had already stepped ut of the room. When the nurse came in my mother asked who that was and nurse replied he was a strange guy. They called police and the man was arrested, this is very disturbing to us and we want to know what out rights are, because this should never had happened.


Asked on 6/08/12, 2:10 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Howard Mishkind Mishkind Kuwlicki Law Co. L.P.A.

The hospital will defend on the basis that this was a criminal act by a third party that they are not responsible for. Unless the hospital was on notice of potential crimanal activity or had a policy in force to prevent strangers from entering the building and they did not comply thus allowing him to enter unobstructed it will be difficult to hold the hospital responsible. Even if the hospital is responsible for this criminal act, the issue of proving what damages were caused by this and how it impacted your mom is still a big question. While upsetting and disturbing, the question is what damages were caused by way of medical treatment or economic loss eventhough this should never have gone on. What you could recover by way of damages would probably not warrant filing a claim through an attorney. You might want to contact the risk manager at the hospital and see if they would be willing to resolve this matter with you for a reasonable sum to avoid the negative publicity. If they say no, you should consider filing a complaint with the Joint Commision in chicago.www.jcaho.org and the ohio state medical board. Hope this helps.

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Answered on 6/08/12, 2:29 pm


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