Negligence Suit Against Former Encino-Tarzana Medical Center Continues

Testimony will begin Thursday in a negligence suit by a woman who alleges she was sexually abused by a nursing assistant at a Tarzana hospital while recovering from surgery, an incident later profiled on Fox television's America's Most Wanted.

Lawyers in Courtney Rosenberg's case against the former Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center at 18321 Clark St., as well as Tenet Healthcare Corp., gave opening statements Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Rosenberg, now 34, maintains Ramon Rodas Gaspar inappropriately touched her while she was recovering from surgery to remove an ovarian cyst in April 2006.

Her attorney, Michael Piuze, told jurors similar complaints were previously made against Gaspar during his two to three years of employment with the hospital. Gaspar was later arrested, but fled after posting bail, Piuze said. He was later profiled on America's Most Wanted in 2008 and 2009.

Rosenberg has suffered post-traumatic stress disorder from the incident that has negatively affected her job performance as well as her relationship with her former boyfriend, Piuze said.

Rosenberg is seeking both compensatory and punitive damages. Her complaint states that Tenet was the parent company of the hospital at the time. However, Tenet attorney Laura O'Hara said in her opening statement that the facility was actually owned at the time by a partnership that was not entirely affiliated with Tenet. The hospital was sold in July 2008 and is now called Providence Tarzana Medical Center.

O'Hara said Tenet has a policy of "See it, say it, fix it'' and does what it can to make sure employee misconduct is not tolerated. However, she said no system is fool-proof.

–City News Service