Nursing Assistant Rapes Patient: Hospital Vicariously Liable. Case in Point: Samuels v. Southern Baptist Hospital (594 So. 2d. 571-LA (1992))

This article discusses the case of a 16-year-old female who had been admitted to the psychiatric unit of a hospital following a suicide attempt. While in hospital, she was raped by a nursing assistant. The hospital & its insurer & the nursing assistant were sued. The jury decided in favour of the plaintiff. The defendants appealed the decision but the Louisiana Court of Appeal upheld the decision ruling that in this case the hospital was vicariously liable for the actions of its employee.