The Orlando Sentinel reported last week on new allegations of abuse against a male nursing at a local hospital. Shean Galvin, a former Air Force captain who gained widespread attention for his work helping rescue Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch in 2003, has been charged with assaulting two patients at the hospital where he works. Glavin is employed by Osceola Regional Medical Center and often works in the facility’s emergency room. According to reports, Galvin apparently perpetrated the Osceola Regional Medical Center attacks against two women after giving them pain killer injections.
Records released by local authorities state that the first victim claims that she was assaulted after she was brought to the emergency room following a fall at her home. Galvin is accused of forcing the woman to perform unwanted sex acts after providing her with intravenous medication. The victim stated that he then called her at her home and told her that she would need to come in from more treatment if she wished to have more pain medication.
Shortly after police were made aware of the first allegations against the nurse, the second Osceola Regional Medical Center victim came forward with similar claims of assault. According to the woman, Glavin touched her inappropriately in the facility’s emergency room while she was being examined for an infection. She reported that the assault occurred just after she been given injections to treat her medical problem. According to the Florida Department of Health, a full investigation was begun shortly after Galvin’s arrest. The hospital is also conducting an internal review to examine the truth or falsity behind the allegations and to determine if anything should have been done to prevent the attacks.
Our Florida hospital abuse attorneys understand that a variety of legal issues are implicated by these allegations of Osceola hospital abuse. For one thing, whenever neglect, abuse, or assault is perpetrated by an employee of a business or public entity, then there is a potential for the employer or public body to be held responsible for the conduct. There are different legal rules that apply depending on the specific situation and involved parties which determine whether or not those injured by the employee’s conduct can seek legal against the employer. In this case, that would involve the victim’s filing suit against the hospital for the assault.
The principle known as respondeat superior guides these legal decisions. In general, an employer may face liability if employee was acting within the scope of his or her employment at the time that the misconduct took place. As one would expect, parties involved in lawsuits stemming from these events usually disagree about whether an employee was engaged in the work for which he was being paid by the employer. However, it is often clear one way or another whether the misdeeds took place in the scope of the employment. Any potential lawsuit that might be filed by the victims against the Osceola Medical Center would likely hinge on where exactly the assault occurred, what Galvin claimed to be doing at the time, whether he was technically on the clock, and other specific information about his actions. Of course, to even reach the issues regarding the hospital’s liability for his conduct, a jury would first have to find that the allegations against him were true. In any event, all those involved in this or similar situations should be sure to visit a professional to protect their legal rights.
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