Experience has shown that legal claims against hospitals are usually based on two separate theories.  Most cases involve a hospital’s duty to take reasonable actions to prevent foreseeable harm to those in its care.   In cases involving hospital security, the plaintiff will allege that by not providing adequate security the defendant hospital was negligent and in gross disregard of the patient's security or safety.  The plaintiff also usually alleges outrageous, wanton, and reckless conduct by the defendant, claiming that the hospital knew or should have known that its lack of security and protocol endangered the rights, safety or life of the plantiff.

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Critical review leaves hospital vulnerable loss of Medicare certification and $2.7 million in federal payments.

Prospective patients and families are increasingly evaluating hospitals, not only for the quality of care the hospital provides, but now, more than ever, hospitals are being evaluated on the level of protection provided the patient and their love ones during their hospital stay. With this in mind, it becomes increasingly essential for healthcare providers to offer state-of-the-art security to protect their patients, visitors, and staff as well as providing protection for the facility from increased litigation.

Hospital employees are frequently placed in positions of significant risk because the population is largely female, the work is performed 24 hours a day, and the employees enter and exit the facility at all times of the day and night. Should an incident occur, it will usually be alleged that the hospital knew, or should have known of the risks on its premises, and that it has an obligation to make its premises reasonably safe.

Post infant abduction assistance is available from SAI for facilities that are victims of security Sentinel Events.   The Root Cause Analysis is reviewed and evaluated to identify mitigating factors that may reduce a hospital’s potential liability.