New Hampshire woman sues state hospital and health services over patient assault: 9 things to know

A woman who worked as a psychiatric advanced practice registered nurse at Concord-based New Hampshire Hospital sued the state and facility regarding a mentally ill patient who attacked her in 2014, according to a New Hampshire Union Leader report.

Here are nine things to know.

1. Harriett Redmond began working at NHH in 2011. David Folks, MD, the hospital's CMO at the time, hired her to work at the psychiatric facility. Ms. Redmond and Dr. Folks were both employed by Hanover, N.H.-based Dartmouth College.

2. Ms. Redmond and her husband, Edward Redmond, sued NHH and the state Department of Health and Human Services in October 2016. They seek unspecified damages, according to the report.

3. The lawsuit stems from a May 2014 incident when Ms. Redmond sustained injuries during an attack by a mentally ill patient.

4. In the suit, Ms. Redmond said she warned Dr. Folks the patient was dangerous before the attack, and recommended the patient be moved to the New Hampshire Department of Corrections' secure psychiatric unit, according to the report.

5. The suit, the New Hampshire Union Leader reports, claims Dr. Folks told Ms. Redmond in response, "the patient would not be removed from NHH or transferred to the SPU until after he hurts somebody."

6. According to the publication, the suit also alleges NHH lacks an official policy or plan for transferring certain mentally ill patients to the secure psychiatric unit, and that Ms. Redmond "has [been] stripped ... of her full sense of self" as a result of the assault. .

7. The patient was civilly committed to the secure psychiatric unit, the publication states.

8. In response to the suit, hospital and state officials have filed a motion to dismiss the case. They contend Ms. Redmond's legal action is prohibited under state workers' compensation law because she has and still gets compensation benefits for her injuries.

9. A court ruling on the summary judgment motion is pending.

 

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