Suing Patients for Assault

From Fair Measures Corporation, http://www.FairMeasures.com

 [A]ccording to most state courts, you probably don't have the right to sue the participant for any injuries. In a 2002 case, a California appellate court said it was OK for a hospital to fire a nurse who refused to drop her lawsuit against a head trauma patient who had assaulted her. The nurse went out on workers' comp leave after the assault, and later sued the former patient. The hospital told her to dismiss the suit or be dismissed herself, stating that it would not permit its staff to file claims against a patient whose conduct may have been affected by the very injuries for which he was being treated: "Suing a patient who cannot be held accountable for his actions because of a medical or psychological condition fits neither our mission nor its values."

Jersey v. John Muir Medical Center, 97 Cal. App. 4th 814, 118 Cal. Rptr. 2d 807 (2002)