Case of Dumping Indigent Patients on the Street Could Leave Hospitals Liable to Lawsuits

Andrew Blankstein and Ari B. Bloomekatz, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers January 17, 2008

Civil rights attorneys today sued Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in connection with the dumping of a paraplegic man on skid row last year.

The suit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of Gabino Olvera, 41, and seeks unspecified punitive and compensatory damages against the hospital for alleged elder abuse, negligence and infliction of emotional distress.It also asks the court for an injunction that would bar the hospital and the van company, Empire Transportation Inc., from engaging in future cases of "homeless dumping."

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