A patient who was sexually assaulted by a nursemay pursue her negligent hiring lawsuit against the hospitalwhere the assailant worked. The plaintiff argued that if the hospital had conducted a background check, it would have found that the nurse had been fired from previous jobs for assaulting female patients. A lower court held that the plaintiff could not sue the hospital because the nurse was officially employed by a third party. The California appellate court ruled that the hospital had sufficient supervisory authority over those working at the facility to be held liable for the nurse’s actions. (C.R. v. Tenet Healthcare Corporation, California Court of Appeal, No. B201220, 2009)