At around 10 p.m. on Nov. 25, 2011, the plaintiff, a psychiatric patient at Aurora Vista del Mar Hospital, was violently and brutally raped by another patient. The patient was initially seen at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, in Santa Barbara, on Nov. 22, 2011, after she was found to be experiencing profound behavioral changes, including marked delusions and hallucinations. Emergency department physicians and a specialist from the Santa Barbara County Mental Health Services evaluated her and determined that she was profoundly psychotic, and suffering from the combined effects of an altered mental status and uncontrolled behaviors. Ultimately, it was determined that the patient was “gravely disabled” and unable to care for herself. The county mental health specialist confirmed the findings and executed an order for a 72-hour, involuntary confinement, pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code § 5150. As a result, the patient was transferred from Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital to Aurora Vista del Mar Hospital, an acute care psychiatric hospital in Ventura, for inpatient psychiatric care in a locked unit. On the fourth day of her hospitalization, the patient was violently and brutally raped by another patient, and choked into unconsciousness after she had been sedated with her nighttime medications, including heavy doses of Seroquel and Lunesta. The female patient initially reported to authorities that the rape had been witnessed by a hospital nurse who then escorted the rapist back to his room. However, it was later determined that the eyewitness nurse was actually another patient. DNA testing of the female patient’s clothing and underwear was positive for sperm and human alleles. However, police were unable to establish a positive identification of the rapist. Likewise, they could not rule out the primary suspect — a male patient who was housed within the same unit as the female patient. A medical examination conducted at the Santa Barbara Rape Crisis Center confirmed physical findings consistent with the female patient’s reported rape. A second medical examination by the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital-Goleta Emergency Department and the Department of Radiology confirmed that the female patient suffered a cervical spine injury as a result of the rapist violently choking her. The female patient sued the operator of Aurora Vista del Mar Hospital, Aurora Vista Del Mar LLC; and a treating doctor, Dr. Kirk Gilbert. She later added Dr. Atman Reyes as a defendant. The plaintiff alleged that the defendants’ actions constituted professional negligence and dependent adult neglect/abuse under California’s Elder and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act, codified in Welfare and Institutions Code § 15610, et seq. Gilbert and Reyes were ultimately dismissed from the case, and the matter continued against Aurora Vista Del Mar LLC only. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that Aurora Vista del Mar engaged in a systematic “cover-up” by refusing to report the event to the California Department of Public Health, and attempting to dissuade the plaintiff’s family from pursuing an investigation and criminal prosecution of the rapist. Counsel argued that Aurora Vista del Mar failed to protect the plaintiff from the inevitable violence from other patients with known psychotic disorders. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that the hospital’s staff acted recklessly by failing to perform the required 15-minute safety checks and by failing to maintain an adequate level of supervision by allowing male patients to wander onto the women’s side of the unit, in violation of hospital policies. Counsel for Aurora Vista del Mar argued that the plaintiff’s two claims (professional negligence and elder/dependent adult neglect) were mutually exclusive under the California Supreme Court decision in Delaney v. Baker (1999), 20 Cal. 4th 23. Ultimately, the trial court allowed the plaintiff’s assertions that the alternative causes of action could be combined into a single verdict form, with combined jury instructions. At trial, counsel for Aurora Vista del Mar argued that the rape was completely unforeseeable. The accused patient’s psychiatrist testified that he had never determined that his patient was violent or aggressive and that his patient never warned the hospital that he posed a risk of harm to other patients. (Although the identity of the accused patient was revealed at trial, defense counsel was not allowed to introduce evidence of his psychiatric diagnoses or prior medical treatments at the hospital.), The plaintiff was raped and choked into unconsciousness. She also suffered a cervical spine injury as a result of being violently choked by the rapist. The plaintiff claimed that she now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result the incident. Plaintiff’s counsel argued that findings of “neglect” under the statute would abrogate the $250,000 “cap” on damages for professional negligence claims. Thus, counsel asked the jury to award the plaintiff approximately $8.2 million in total damages.