Lawsuit over alleged Centennial Hills hospital sex assault settled out of court
A woman who claims she was raped by a certified nursing assistant in 2008 has settled a related lawsuit against Centennial Hills Hospital Medical Center.
The civil case was set to go to trial Monday in District Court, but the parties reached a settlement Friday.
“All the terms of the settlement are confidential,” said the plaintiff’s attorney, Neal Hyman.
The woman was one of six female patients who accused nursing assistant Steven Farmer of victimizing them at Centennial Hills Hospital, 6900 N. Durango Dr. The Review-Journal generally does not publish the names of sexual assault victims unless they request it.
Farmer was arrested at his Las Vegas residence in May 2008. The defendant, now 61, is being held at the Clark County Detention Center, where he is awaiting a Feb. 3 trial on sexual assault and lewdness charges.
The lawsuit was filed against Valley Health System LLC, doing business as Centennial Hills Hospital.
According to court papers, the woman arrived at the hospital around May 15 or May 16, 2008, after suffering a seizure and was taken from the emergency room to a hospital room by Farmer.
“During the course of plaintiff’s admission to a hospital room at Centennial Hills Hospital, and specifically in the process of handling and transporting her to a hospital room, Steven Dale Farmer sexually assaulted and raped plaintiff, and engaged in open and gross lewdess,” the lawsuit alleged.
The lawsuit’s claims included general negligence, assault and battery, and false imprisonment.
According to the document, the defendant’s actions directly or indirectly “resulted in the confinement of plaintiff in an elevator, during transport to her hospital room and/or inside her hospital room.”
The woman told Las Vegas police she “had her cellular phone under her pillow and while Farmer was touching her she attempted to use the camera to take pictures of what Farmer was doing.”
“When she could hear the camera making noises, she stopped after a few attempts fearing that Farmer would hear the camera clicking…” according to the arrest report. “During the entire assault, Farmer kept telling her that he was doing this to help her to relax.”
A detective reviewed the woman’s phone, according to the report, and found two pictures from early that morning that “showed only a black screen.” In addition, the report states, a nurse conducted an exam and found injuries consistent with the assault the patient had described.
Another woman filed a lawsuit that also accuses Farmer of sexually assaulting her while she was recovering from seizures in May 2008 at Centennial Hills Hospital. A trial in that case is scheduled for May in District Court.
