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D. L.v.St. Francis Health, LLC

CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
Docket No.A23A1051
DecidedOctober 2, 2023
Reporter369 Ga. App. 314; 893 S.E.2d 444; 2023 Ga. App. LEXIS 450
JudgesFULLER, SENIOR JUDGE. Doyle, P. J., and Gobeil, J., concur.
Tags
CivilPremises LiabilityHospital LiabilityForeseeabilityNegligent SecuritySexual AssaultTales From the CryptMurder & MayhemThe System
Case Summary

A sedated ICU patient on a ventilator alleged that three men entered her hospital room, held her down, raped her, and later threatened her life while she remained incapacitated. The hospital won summary judgment on the ground that the assault was not foreseeable as a matter of law. The Court of Appeals of Georgia reversed. It held that foreseeability had to be decided by a factfinder given the patient's extreme vulnerability, the hospital's lack of meaningful controls over who entered the ICU and patient rooms, and evidence of other reported sexual-misconduct incidents at the hospital in the preceding years. Because the record did not demand a finding that the assault was unforeseeable, the premises-liability claim could not be disposed of on summary judgment.

Opinion

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