St. Bernard Hospital sued for medical malpractice

A woman is suing on behalf of her mentally disabled sister who was allegedly sexually assaulted after being wrongfully discharged from a hospital.

Mary Lawson, plenary guardian of Lanay Denise Lawson, filed a lawsuit Nov. 6 in Cook County Circuit Court against St. Bernard Hospital Inc. and Dr. Laura Lucero.

According to the complaint, Mary Lawson is the sister and guardian of Lanay, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and mental disability, for which she was receiving treatment for in 2011.

The complaint states that on Nov. 11, 2011, Lanay wandered off from Lawson's Chicago home and entered the Mercy Medical Clinic near 85th and State streets.

The clinic, according to the suit, contacted 911 to report that Lanay had wandered away from home and was at a risk of injuring herself.

The complaint states that paramedics arrived to treat and evaluate Lanay and eventually transported her to St. Bernard Hospital for further evaluation.

Lawson alleges that either during the night of Nov. 25 or early morning of Nov. 26, Lanay was discharged by St. Bernard staff without contacting her and that Lanay was later kidnapped and sexually assaulted by a group of men in a neighborhood near the hospital.

She claims the defendants were negligent in their care of Lanay, among other claims.

Lawson is seeking damages in excess of $50,000. She is being represented in the case by attorney Bryan J. O'Conner of O'Connor Law Group LLC and attorneys at Grazian & Volpe.

Circuit Court of Cook County Case No. 2013L012295.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.