Taylor & Ring Files Sexual Abuse Lawsuit Against Methodist Hospital of Sacramento

Taylor & Ring has filed a lawsuit against Methodist Hospital of Sacramento on behalf of “Jane Doe,” a woman who was repeatedly sexually assaulted by her nurse, Gregory Allen Harms, while she struggled to survive in the intensive care unit. The lawsuit names both Harms and the hospital as defendants. Not only did Methodist Hospital of Sacramento fail to protect our client and other patients by hiring a sexual predator; they attempted to skirt liability by claiming our client was hallucinating her repeated assaults.

John C. Taylor, a founding partner at Taylor & Ring who is representing Ms. Doe, told Fox 40 that our client is not the only victim:

There were multiple other victims who at various medical facilities, who this man preyed upon. She’d like questions answered as to what was the protocols or the rules to be followed regarding, one, the hiring of the person. The supervision, what were the rules of supervision for ICU employees and for ICU patients?

What happened to Ms. Doe?

In December 2016, Ms. Doe suffered a pulmonary embolism – a blood clot that enters the lung and blocks the flow of blood. It is a potentially life-threatening condition, which is why she was admitted to the ICU. While she was there, Taylor told Fox 40, “She was unable to speak or to move any portion of her body. She was unable to breathe on her own.” Per the complaint, the hospital performed a tracheostomy to help her breath, and inserted a PEG tube through which she received fluid, nutrition, and her medications.

Ove her weeks in ICU, Ms. Doe was raped by her night nurse, Harms, on multiple occasions. She could do nothing to fend off her attacker, as she was physically incapacitated. When she finally regained the ability to communicate in January 2017, she reported the abuse to the hospital’s speech therapist, who then reported the assault to Methodist Hospital’s administrators.

But instead of taking her reports seriously, Methodist Hospital of Sacramento told police that she was “heavily medicated” and “hallucinating” the attacks. They told Ms. Doe “This didn’t happen to you.” They didn’t investigate. They shared Ms. Doe’s medical records with the police and told them she had made it all up.

So the police didn’t investigate, either.

Not that Ms. Doe didn’t try to get help. She went back to the police in December 2017 to report her rapes, but was told that the matter was closed.

Imagine her horror, then, when the Sacramento Police Department contacted Ms. Doe in November 2019, telling her that two other victims had come forward to report Harms had sexually assaulted them, too.

Harms is currently facing five felony charges for sexual assaults stemming from 2011.

Medical professionals owe us more than a duty of care

All sexual assault and rape is heinous, but there is something especially egregious about it when the predator is a medical professional. The fact that Ms. Doe was in such a vulnerable position makes it even more heart-breaking. The sad truth is that complaints against California doctors, nurse, and medical personnel seem to increase every year, yet only about 4% of those complaints ever lead to sanctions.

That is why Taylor & Ring fights for people who have ben abused by those they trust the most. Methodist Hospital of Sacramento’s systemic failures – to properly vet their employees, to launch a credible investigation into the report of rape, to not only fail to report the rape to police but to actively work to shut it down – not only caused irreparable injury and trauma to our client, but may have put so many other patients at risk.

And we cannot let this stand. We are proud to support Jane Doe in her fight for justice and accountability. We will et at the truth of what happened, and to advocate not only for her, but for any and all other patients who may have been sexually assault or raped in any hospital in California. If you were a victim of Gregory Allen Harms, or were abused by a medical professional at a hospital or other facility, you are not alone. Taylor & Ring will fight for you, too.

Taylor & Ring has successfully represented victims of sexual assault, rape, and abuse for decades. If you were the victim of a medical professional, we want to help. Please call us in Los Angeles or fill out our contact form to learn more. The consultation is both free and confidential, and we also offer video and phone consultations for clients who feel safer at their homes.