A male patient underwent a surgical procedure at a hospital to insert a sheath into an artery of his groin. A male nurse who was an employee of the hospital was instructed to attend to the p
SEXUAL ASSAULT
SCENARIO (BASED ON A REAL GEORGIA CASE)
A male patient underwent a surgical procedure at a hospital to insert a sheath into an artery of his groin. A male nurse who was an employee of the hospital was instructed to attend to the patient post-surgery to check the groin area for complications and to clean the area as necessary. While in the room alone with the patient, the nurse sexually molested the patient. The patient awoke to discover the nurse rubbing his penis with both hands. The patient screamed, and multiple employees quickly arrived, catching the nurse in the act. The nurse was arrested and convicted of sexual assault in a criminal proceeding. In a separate civil suit, the patient and his wife sued the hospital under the doctrine of respondeat superior for assault, battery, and loss of consortium. Obviously, the nurse himself is civilly (and criminally) liable in this case. However, the only question before us now is the liability of the hospital, the nurse’s employer. To state a claim under respondeat superior, the plaintiff must prove BOTH: 1. That the nurse was an employee of the hospital (this is not in dispute), AND 2. At the time of the incident, the nurse was acting within the course and scope of his employment (very much in dispute). This is actually a close case. The hospital argues that the nurse’s job duties obviously did not include molesting patients. The plaintiff argues that the nurse was expected to attend to the patient’s genital area and that this kind of incident was clearly foreseeable by the hospital. (Note: If you would like to see the real case this scenario is based upon, check out Piedmont Hosp., Inc. v. Palladino, 580 S.E.2d 215 (Ga. 2003). Be warnedthe scenario has altered the facts from the original case. Do not rely upon the real case opinion in formulating your answer to the fictional scenario in the discussion question.)
We will debate the question:
Was the nurse acting within the course and scope of employment, such that the hospital should be liable? Or, were his outrageous actions toward the patient so far removed from his job duties that it would be unfair to hold the hospital liable in this case? Argue that the nurse’s conduct was outside his course and scope of employment and the defendant should win.
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