If you or a family member was a patient at a mental or behavioral health hospital, and was assaulted by an employee of that hospital, you or your family member may have a claim against that mental health hospital. As explained below, it is not simply the assault that creates the claim, but other factors such as the degree of negligence of the mental health hospital, the injuries you or your family member suffered, and what the mental or behavioral health hospital did to vet and train the employee who committed the assault.
How is the mental health hospital liable for an injury?
A mental health hospital will not be liable for the act of its employee assaulting you or your family member alone. It would be liable for additional negligent acts. An example of this is if the employee had no experience treating mental health patients, and the mental health hospital provided little to no training on how to treat and handle mental health patients to the employee. In this scenario the mental or behavioral health hospital could be liable for the assault its employee committed against you or your family member.
The mental health hospital could also be liable if it did little to no vetting of the employee in question, and you can show if it did properly vet the employee it never would have hired him or her. An example of this is if the employee has a criminal history of assault and the background search shows the employee does not have the temperate to be able to manage mental health patients. That this is an employee who can easily become frustrated and resort to violence when he or she becomes frustrated.
Negligent Hiring or Retention Can Play a Role
The claims described above are negligent hiring and retention claims. A more extreme version of this would be if the mental health hospital was aware the employee had anger issues and a history of assault, hired the employee anyway, and then provided inadequate training to the employee on how to manage and supervise mental health patients.
The degree of negligence of the mental health hospital also plays a role in whether you have a claim against it for one of its employees assaulting you or a family member. Under the Mental Health and Procedures Act (MHPA), 50 P.S. § 7101 et seq, you must show more than ordinary negligence in the care and treatment of you or your family member to have a case. The MHPA requires that you show willful misconduct or gross negligence.
Gross negligence is when the facts support substantially more than ordinary carelessness, inadvertence, laxity, or indifference. The behavior of the defendant must be flagrant, grossly deviating from the ordinary standard of care. Willful misconduct is defined as conduct where the actor desired to bring about the result that followed or at least was aware that it was certain to follow, so that such desire can be implied. So even if there is no statement by an actor that they wanted something harmful to happen to you, if their acts were obviously going to cause you or your family member harm, willful misconduct can be implied. Whether there is gross negligence or willful misconduct in your or your family member’s case will depend on the facts of your case.
Sometimes the Department of Mental Health, Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services will investigate the assault of your or your family member. The Department of Mental Health may find that the mental health hospital committed statutory violations that lead to the assault and issue citations against the hospital. If so, that can also be helpful in proving a claim of gross negligence against the mental or behavioral health hospital.
In addition to showing the mental or behavioral health hospital was at fault for your assault, you must also show damages. These will be the physical injuries you or your loved one suffered from the assault, and the medical treatment needed for those injuries. If future medical treatment will be needed the costs of that future treatment can also be included in your damages claim. These injuries can be proven through your medical records, imaging studies, and through expert medical testimony.
The Thistle Law Firm is experienced at handling claims against psychiatric, mental, or behavioral health hospitals. If you or a family member suffered injuries from an assault by one of the hospital’s employees, the attorneys at the Thistle Law Firm are here to take your call and answer your questions at 215-568-6800.