COLUMBUS, Ohio (Legal Newsline) – An Akron hospital will have to face a lawsuit that claims one of its emergency room physicians sexually assaulted a patient, even though no criminal charges have been filed.
The Ohio Supreme Court reached that decision on Dec. 8 in the lawsuit filed by Malieka Evans, who is pursuing claims Akron General Medical Center negligently hired, retained or supervised Dr. Amir Shahideh.
She claims she was administered a narcotic in 2012 when Shahideh touched her in areas unrelated to the injuries that caused her to go to the ER.
The Summit County Court of Common Pleas ruled for AGMC in 2016 because, it said, Evans failed to establish his civil liability or guilt of a criminal offense.
“The employee must be shown to have committed an act that is legally wrongful, irrespective of whether he or she has been or can be held legally accountable,” Justice Michael Donnelly.
“We see no reason to conclude that the statute of limitations for a negligent hiring, supervision, or retention claim is affected by the statute of limitations governing the underlying legally wrongful conduct of the employee.”
The Supreme Court was given two questions from the Summit County Court of Appeals, finding that a plaintiff doesn’t need to show an employee has been found guilty of a crime to maintain the types of claims Evans is pursuing.