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Verdict range $100,000 - $500,000
ARTICLE ID 157703
$________ AGAINST HEALTH CARE PROVIDER Employer's liability - Negligent hiring of nurse who suffered from alcoholism and drug addiction - Female sexual assault upon disabled 17-year-old boy.
Essex County, NJ
The plaintiff contended that the defendant health care
facility was negligent in hiring and retaining the nurse and in
failing to more fully evaluate her background. The plaintiff
maintained that the facility negligently failed to determine that
the 44-year-old individual nurse had prior bouts of alcoholism,
heroin use and was on methadone at the time of her employment.
The nurse was assigned to the home of the 17-year-old learning
disabled boy who also suffering from muscular dystrophy and has
extremely limited movement of hands and arms.
The defendant nurse usually was present when the boys single
mother was at work. The plaintiff contended that within two
months, the boys mother noticed love marks (hickies) on her
sons neck. He at first denied anything happened at all, later
explaining that he feared that he would be taken from his mother
and placed in a foster home. The plaintiff further established
that upon further questioning, the boy admitted that the female
nurse "sucked on my thing" and put my hands on her breasts and
vagina. The mother called the police who notified DYFS and the
prosecutors office, who in turn notified the State Board of
Nursing.
The nurse was arrested, immediately terminated from her position
and her health care license was revoked. She later pled guilty to
second-degree sexual assault upon a minor and was sentenced to a
four year prison sentence. The facility claimed privacy rights
prevented prior employers from revealing more information that
might have led to further inquiry of the nurse. The healthcare
facilitys insurance carrier denied coverage to the nurse, who
proceeded pro se in the litigation.
The suit was brought under common law claims and the fee-shifting
provisions of both the Federal Civil Rights Act and the Child
Sexual Abuse Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:61B-1. The case settled for
$________ shortly after the defendant healthcare facilitys motion
for Summary Judgment was denied.
5 ways to win with JVRA
JVRA gives you jurisdiction-specific, year-round insight into the strategies, arguments and tactics that win. Successful attorneys come to the table prepared and use JVRA to:
- Determine if a case is winnable and recovery amounts.
- Determine reasonable demand for a case early on.
- Support a settlement demand by establishing precedent.
- Research trial strategies, tactics and arguments.
- Defeat or support post-trial motions through past case histories.
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