A 37-year-old wheelchair-bound patient at San Francisco's Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center has sued the hospital and the city over alleged abuse and neglect, attorneys for the patient said Wednesday.
The lawsuit filed by Omar Abdullah in San Francisco Superior Court on Feb. 24 is at least the third filed against the city-owned nursing and rehabilitation hospital in the wake of mistreatment revealed by the San Francisco Department of Public Health last year.
Abdullah is one of 23 patients for whom the department announced in June that it had found evidence of verbal and physical abuse, privacy violations and sedation with drugs that had not been prescribed.
His lawsuit claims that he was kicked, sexually abused, photographed while partially undressed and chemically restrained with non-prescribed medications at various times. Abdullah has cognitive impairment and depends on the hospital staff for assistance with activities of daily life, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit includes claims of abuse, negligence, assault and violation of privacy, and asks for compensatory and punitive financial awards.
Two similar lawsuits were filed in superior court in January by other patients.
Brent Andrew, a spokesman for the city's public health department, said he could not comment on the litigation.
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He said the California Department of Public Health has now certified that the hospital meets state standards.
