Patients enter hospitals expecting a safe environment, particularly when they are elderly, seriously ill, recovering from surgery, or under the effects of medication. But what happens when a hospital security guard allegedly threatens, intimidates, physically mistreats, or otherwise acts inappropriately toward a senior patient?
Depending on the circumstances, both the security guard and the hospital may face potential legal responsibility.
Hospitals have responsibilities concerning patient safety and patient rights. In Michigan, patients in licensed facilities are entitled to privacy and respectful treatment and have the right to be free from mental and physical abuse.
Whether the hospital itself is legally responsible for a security guard’s conduct is more complicated.
One potential theory is respondeat superior, which can make an employer responsible for wrongful conduct committed by an employee within the scope of employment. Michigan courts have considered this issue specifically in cases involving hospital security officers. However, an employer generally is not responsible for intentional wrongful conduct committed solely for an employee’s personal purposes and outside the scope of employment.
A hospital could also potentially face claims involving negligent hiring, training, retention, or supervision. Such a claim may require evidence that the hospital knew or should have known about circumstances making the employee’s wrongful behavior foreseeable.
Evidence can therefore become extremely important. Patients and their families should consider preserving surveillance footage, security reports, witness information, medical records, photographs, text messages, telephone records, and other documentation relating to the incident.
If a senior patient believes a security officer used threats, intimidation, unnecessary physical force, or abusive treatment, the incident should be documented promptly and evaluated by an attorney familiar with personal injury, civil rights, elder abuse, or hospital-liability cases.
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