If this allegation is true, it is beyond the pale: A mentally ill paraplegic man is suing a hospital for discharging him and dumping him in his hospital gown on a grate in skid row. From the story: 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 hospital spokesperson stated they believed an out of court settlement could be reached. They better hope so. Hollywood Pres does not want this case going to a jury.
The incident was captured by security cameras at a nearby homeless shelter.Hernan Vera, a lawyer with Public Counsel, which helped bring the lawsuit on behalf on Olvera, called it “the most obscene and callous example of this practice that we have seen.”
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