The suit, filed anonymously, accuses the hospital of violating a Wisconsin law that requires owners of public buildings to maintain safe conditions.
The plaintiff was leaving after visiting her mother at the hospital April 2, 2019, when she was approached by a man in the parking garage around 7 p.m. The stranger stabbed her head, chest, abdomen and arms and kicked her in the head, according to the suit. Both her lungs collapsed, she lost several teeth, and she had to be hospitalized for three weeks.
Columbia St. Mary’s didn’t have any security officers in the garage or functioning surveillance cameras, the suit alleges. The suit also claims the hospital was aware of previous incidents on the hospital campus and of nearby crime rates, and still did not take security precautions.
The attacker, previously incarcerated for stabbing two women, received a 40-year prison sentence for the attack at Columbia St. Mary’s.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel could not immediately reach Ascension for comment.
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