Beaumont Hospital Dearborn is facing a lawsuit over an attack of a patient in the Emergency Room lobby by another patient.
The attack was caught on video.
The video shows a 19-year-old college student in a hijab walking into the hospital in February, seeking treatment for a possible broken jaw after slipping on the ice.
Her attorney says that's when she was sucker punched.
"Hit her not once, not twice but 3 times and maybe 4. and my client is on the ground and she’s like, what did I do? what did I do to deserve this?," says Majed Moughni.
Dearborn police say the attacker was John Deliz, another patient.
"He came for help. he wanted mental care. he didn’t get it. He was released," Moughni says. "They knew he was a danger yet instead of removing him, removing this danger, they allow him to stay and they allowed him literally to attack my client. Beaumont security had the right to #1 apprehend him. put him in a place. Keep him in a room or something to police got there."
Moughni says they don't know what triggered the attack, but they do believe his mental condition played a role.
"The security, we love the way they responded afterwards, but as they say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. this could have been prevented. we wouldn’t be here today," he says.
They are hoping the lawsuit leads to a policy change at the hospital, and compensation for his client.
"At the moment it was devastating. It was a blow that knocked her to the ground," Moughni says. "The injury that she has is life changing. She’s terrified. She’ll probably never see life the way she did before this accident. She’s afraid to go outdoors, she’s afraid to go in public. she always has to keep an eye on her surroundings now."
Beaumont Hospital released the following statement about the lawsuit:
On Feb. 10, a patient in the Beaumont, Dearborn Emergency Center became physically aggressive with another patient in the waiting room. Beaumont security personnel responded immediately and took action to protect the patient and others in the emergency room. Dearborn Police were contacted and Beaumont staff cooperated fully in the investigation.
We take pride in our service to this diverse community and want all patients to feel welcome at Beaumont.
