HUNTINGTON — An attack on a Dunbar resident at Mildred Mitchell Bateman Hospital by another patient prompted a recent lawsuit.
Frank Smith filed a complaint in Cabell Circuit Court against the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, Mildred Mitchell Bateman Hospital and an unidentified staff member.
According to the complaint, Smith was sleeping in his hospital room when a patient with known dangerous propensities entered his room and stabbed him in the right eye with a Bic Pen. He suffered serious injuries and extreme emotional distress, the complaint states. Smith alleges a staff member saw the man looking into his room several times, but did nothing to stop the attack.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks compensatory and punitive damages, attorney's fees and costs. He is represented by Kevin P. Davis in Charleston.
Cabell Circuit Court Case number 18-C-383
