Victims of Sexual Assault Join Grand Junction Class Action

• Author: Jeffrey Simmons
• Posted: 2024-05-18

According to a class-action lawsuit filed last Tuesday, Dec 20, a male nurse who worked with the Grand Junction hospital sexually assaulted many different women over the years, at occasions spanning more than one employer (though all under the Grand Junction banner). This is a brand new filing, so not a lot is known about the case. The gist of the suit suggests that a male nurse at a hospital fondled and molested female patients over the course of many years. To date, it is unclear on whether or not criminal charges have been brought about on the nurse; the information only suggests that Grand Junction is being sued for allowing it to happen.

What's known about this case thus far is that, according to the lawsuit, Grand Junction was actually told of this behavior and refused to do anything about it. The nurse was able to stay employed, and allegedly allowed to assault other women over the years. In cases like this, there's a very fine line separating sexual assault from merely inconsiderate handling. In other words, a lot of cases like these will not see criminal charges due to the fact that the person accused did nothing that was technically illegal. Though when it comes to civil lawsuits, a victim can claim that they felt assaulted, and even if the letter of the law does not call it assault in the criminal world, the civil suit may still demonstrate that the individual was indeed a victim of assault and thus is owed restitution.

These cases always have blurred lines and nothing is ever as simple as it seems. What makes this case newsworthy is that it's just the latest out of many such suits that have been filed in recent years. Most famously, NFL quarterback Deshaun Watson was accused of sexual assault by over 20 women during massage sessions. The details are widely available and more than a little disturbing. Suffice to say, the authorities concluded that Watson broke no criminal laws, and thus could not be criminally charged for sexual assault. However, the women involved in the case did not feel any less assaulted, and so they sought out a criminal suit against Watson. To date, he has settled out of court with a few accusers, while others are still dealing with pending cases.

These sorts of suits are always very polarizing. On one hand, it is pretty easy to sue someone for money, as a pure money-grab, when the accused has done nothing wrong. Then again, there are many cases where the accused has done something wrong; it's just that in cases of sexual assault, the police and investigators are not always able to find evidence. Without evidence, there can be no criminal charge. Though that doesn't make the accused any less guilty. It just means no criminal charges can be filed, and that's where civil action comes into play.
 

Why Some Cases Stay Civil

Some cases have no choice but to stay in the realm of civil law because evidence for sexual assault is tricky. So many women fear the stigma involved and thus do not go to the police right away, and so that means there are no marks, fluids or other forms of evidence to suggest the assault took place. It turns into the proverbial "he said, she said" sort of case, and it becomes exponentially harder, if not impossible to pursue criminal charges.

Cases like Bill Cosby and Harvey Weinstein are the exception, not the rule. In these cases, there is enough physical evidence and overwhelming testimony available to pursue criminal charges to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that these men had sexually abused and assaulted multiple women. In cases like Deshaun Watson, there is not any available criminal evidence and thus it goes to civil court. For the Grand Junction nurse, it would appear thus far that there is not enough physical evidence to file any criminal charges against him. That could change as the case unravels. A lot can be discovered in civil motions that would cause police to file criminal charges. Time will tell on that.

The lesson to take away here is that if you've been sexually assaulted by anyone, you should never wait to seek help from the police. Keep in mind, also, that just because you have criminal charges filed against your abuser does not mean that you cannot also file a civil suit. So, you can still sue or join a class action even if your abusers have been prosecuted criminally.