Hospital sued for dumping paraplegic man in Los Angeles gutter
January 22nd, 2008A mentally ill paraplegic man has filed a lawsuit against a hospital that dumped him in a gutter on Los Angeles’ “Skid Row.”
Gabino Olvera, 42, sued the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center for negligence after it discharged him in February 2007, took him across town in a van and left him in a soiled hospital gown without a wheelchair in the heart of the city’s homeless area.
Witnesses who came to Olvera’s aid said they saw him dragging himself on the ground with hospital papers and documents clenched in his teeth while the driver sat in her van and applied makeup before driving off.
The incident was captured by security cameras at a nearby homeless shelter.
… Hollywood Presbyterian said in a statement it had thoroughly reviewed its patient discharge policies to ensure nothing of the sort ever happened again.

