DMC faces lawsuit in Detroit over patient rape and staff layoffs

DETROIT – A $10 million lawsuit has been filed against Detroit Receiving Hospital and DMC on behalf of former employee Lakisha Davis, alleging that the hospital attempted to cover up an unsafe environment for psychiatric patients who were raped while receiving treatment in their care.

Davis worked as a psychiatric nurse for most of the eight years she was employed at DMC.

In April 2024, another patient is said to have raped an inpatient psychiatric patient.

“I work in the crisis center,” said Davis, which regularly treated up to 22 patients and was understaffed – there were about two nurses and one technician caring for 22 patients there. “It's unsafe.”

Davis' attorney, Azzam Elder, said inadequate staff and poor supervision allowed the attacker to enter the victim's room undetected.

They alleged that after the attack, the hospital continued to operate with dangerously low staffing levels, failed to implement additional security measures, and failed to take steps to separate vulnerable patients from violent or high-risk patients.

In June, Davis said, it happened again. This time, on the morning of June 2, a patient was allegedly raped.

Davis was off duty at the time, but returned on Monday (June 3) and said she was shown a video of the attack.

“Then I reported it because nothing happened the day she was raped,” Davis said. “DMC sends their fixers, she assumes they're coming to finally solve the problem,” Elder said.

Instead, Davis said, she was instructed not to talk to the victim or anyone else about the rape. Davis and two other people who knew about the incident were fired days later.

The lawsuit filed on Davis' behalf accuses him of wrongful termination, retaliation and defamation.

Local 4 contacted Detroit police, who confirmed that their Special Victims Unit was aware of both incidents and had forwarded their findings on the April attack to the District Attorney's Office.

They say they are aware of the June 2 assault and are investigating the incident. We have also reached out to DMC to learn about the reported assaults and complaints.

Their spokesman replied:

“This baseless lawsuit is an inappropriate attempt by a disgruntled terminated employee to take personal advantage of an unfortunate situation. Lakisha Davis was terminated for violating HIPAA privacy protections for patient protection, violating DMC policies, and repeatedly lying about her role in the investigation. In fact, Ms. Davis had already received a final warning and had recently been disciplined prior to her termination.

It appears that Ms. Davis continues to lie even after losing her job. In her lawsuit, Ms. Davis states that she repeatedly raised concerns about this incident; however, in the union complaint she filed after her termination, she claims that she “never accessed any video and at no time did she report an incident.” The DMC is fully cooperating with regulators and has taken appropriate measures to ensure patient safety.”