RISKAlert Report Updated: April 10, 2018
A nineteen-year old woman is suing Beaumont Hospital in Dearborn, Michigan after she was injured by another patient in the hospital’s emergency room. The entire attack was caught on hospital security video.
The video showed the woman, who was wearing a hijab head scarf, had just started talking to the staff at the ER desk, when, with 5 seconds, an older man came up behind her and started to repeatedly punch her in the head. The man who attacked her, 57-year-old John Deliz, had been dropped off at the hospital by police, after leaving a group home.
Police records show he was warned about harassing others in the hospital lobby before the attack occurred, according to The Detroit News. Deliz admitted in court that that he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia and had not been taking his medications.
The hospital security staff immediately responded and restrained Deliz, who was subsequently arrested.
The lawsuit claims that “the hospital was aware of his condition as he was brought because he needed mental treatment. Instead of treating him, they discharged him into the ER waiting room,” her lawyer, Mr. Moughni told CBS. “Instead of giving him mental treatment, they put him back in the patient pool, thereby giving way to his attack.”
LESSONS LEARNED:
1. Using the Emergency Room as a temporary holding area for behavioral health individuals
exposes the hospital to potential lawsuits and liability for any damage they might do.
2. Behavioral health patients need to be isolated in a holding room and/or continuously supervised, and
not allowed to freely circulate within the Emergency Room.
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