Greedy Trial Lawyer
Rape By Any Other Name Is Not Malpractice
Category: Desperate Defendants
Why would a nursing home want to call the rape of one of its residents by an employee an act of malpractice? Well, it turns out that, by Louisiana statute, there is a cap on damages for malpractice cases. If there had been a lower cap imposed on claims for identification theft I presume the nursing home would have given that a try.
Judge says lawsuit in rape isn't malpracticeA lawsuit against a Carencro nursing home on behalf of a resident who was raped by an employee will not be tried as a medical malpractice case, a judge ruled Monday.
The lawsuit was filed in October by curator Robert L. Gauthier - an advocate appointed by the court to act on the rape victim's behalf - against Evangeline Oaks Nursing Home.
In September, the nursing home employee, Donavon Despanie, 20, pleaded no contest to simple rape. He is set to be sentenced Feb. 8, and could face up to 25 years in prison.
At the time of the incident in October 2004, Despanie worked as a certified nursing assistant at the nursing home. Police have said other employees walked in on Despanie raping the then 92-year-old woman, who suffered from dementia.
In a hearing Monday before Judge Kristian Earles on the civil lawsuit, Jennie Pellegrin, attorney for the victim, claimed the nursing home was trying to limit its liability by turning the case into a medical malpractice case - in Louisiana, there is a cap on malpractice damages of $500,000.
"Essentially, what they're saying is that we shouldn't be allowed to recover any more than that," Pellegrin said after the hearing.
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