VANCOUVER — A former patient who alleges another patient attacked her in her room at Vancouver General Hospital, biting off and swallowing her right thumb, is suing the hospital and a security company for damages.
The macabre assault is outlined in a lawsuit filed recently by Anupama Govardhan Bhakthan in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver.
Bhakthan says that on April 4, 2020, she was admitted to the hospital with a right hip fracture and underwent surgery before being sent to the orthopedic ward to recover.
A day after her admission, a man had attacked some security guards, biting and grabbing at a guard’s head, according to the lawsuit.
The man appeared psychotic and was apprehended under the Mental Health Act before being admitted to the hospital, where he was initially ordered restrained by doctors because he was considered a danger to others, says the suit.
But three days later, the man’s restraints were removed by an unidentified hospital employee, allowing him to leave his bed in the orthopedic ward and attack a nurse and a security guard, says the lawsuit.
The man then allegedly entered Bhakthan’s room, bit off her right thumb and swallowed it. He is alleged to have continued the attack, biting, hitting and grabbing her face, eye and right arm.
“As a result of this attack, the plaintiff suffered serious eye and face damage, emotional trauma, and amputation of her right thumb,” says the suit.
According to the lawsuit, the man is currently a resident of the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in Coquitlam, a 190-bed facility that treats people who have been found not criminally responsible for a crime or unfit to stand trial due to a mental disorder.
Bhakthan says that her injuries continue to cause her pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of amenities, permanent disability and loss or impairment of her earning capacity, both past and prospective.
She is seeking damages for the pain and suffering as well as general and special damages and an “in-trust” award for additional work done by friends and family members as a result of her impaired capacity to do housekeeping chores and to care for herself.
She alleges the hospital and Paladin Security Group, which provides security at the hospital, were negligent for allowing the attack.
No response has been filed to the lawsuit, which contains allegations that have not been tested in court. Vancouver Coastal Health, named as one of the defendants, had no immediate comment. Paladin could not be reached.
