L.A. Files Lawsuit Against Hawaiian Gardens Hospital
* This post was updated to include the hospital response.
L.A City Attorney Mike Feuer announced Wednesday that he has filed a lawsuit against Gardens Regional Hospital for allegedly dumping a patient on Skid Row in September. The alleged victim is a 38-year-old homeless woman with schizophrenia and a history of mental illness. The lawsuit claims the a hospital van dumped the mentally ill woman on Skid Row without following proper discharge protocol.
Anyone with information on patient dumping is urged to call the L.A. City Attorney's office at 213-978-8340.
In an email to ATVN, a hospital spokesperson said, "The hospital is appalled by the baseless, false and misleading allegations... The Los Angeles City Attorney's precipitous action will not only harm an important community assest in the city of Hawaiian Gardens,,,but will negatively impact the important services the hospital and similar facilities provide to homeless people throughout the region."