Lawsuit: Male Nurse Sexually Assaulted Woman Patient At Stroger Hospital
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A woman is suing Stroger Hospital of Cook County, claiming she was sexually assaulted while she was a patient in the hospital burn unit.
As WBBM Newsradio's David Roe reports, the woman claims in the lawsuit that a male nurse assigned to her care had repeated and unwanted sexual contact with her that ended in forced sex.
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In the suit, the woman claims the nurse made a number of visits to her room that she felt were unnecessary. He gave her medication through an IV and adjusted it when she complained of pain, then checked her breathing with a stethoscope.
The suit claims he moved the stethoscope across the woman's breasts repeatedly, which the woman said "appeared to her that (he) was using the stethoscope to touch her breasts for his own pleasure."
The woman did not ask that he stop out of fear that he would harm her, according to the suit.
Afterwards, the nurse used a cloth and pail to wash the woman. According to the suit, the nurse groped the woman all over her body, and when she asked him to stop he told her he was a nurse and "it was his job."
The nurse then turned off the lights and pulled the curtain around the woman's bed before leaving the room. He then returned and attempted to climb on top of the woman, and she asked him to get a condom. The suit claims that he went to get one, then sexually assaulted her.
The two-count suit claims negligence and a violation of the Gender Violence Act on the part of the hospital.
The lawsuit seeks $50,000 per count in punitive damages from Stroger Hospital, as well as lawyers' fees.
The hospital is not commenting.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2012. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
