N.X. v. Cabrini Med. Ctr.,
No. 4 (N.Y. Feb. 14, 2002)

A patient who was sexually assaulted by a resident physician while she was in the recovery room following surgery sued the hospital, alleging that it was vicariously liable for the resident's actions and was directly liable for its own negligence in hiring him and in failing to adequately protect her. The New York Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the hospital on the patient's vicarious liability claim, ruling that the hospital would only be liable for actions of the resident that were attributable to his duties at the hospital, which these clearly were not. The appeals court reversed the lower court's summary judgment in favor of the hospital on the direct negligence claim, ruling that there were "issues of fact as to whether the nurses [in the recovery room] actually observed or unreasonably ignored events immediately preceding the [resident's] misconduct which indicated a risk of imminent harm to plaintiff, triggering the need for protective action."