Doctor Sues Hospital After Knife Attack

A physician identified only as "Janice Doe" is suing the owners of a Lake View hospital for a serious breach of duty she claims led to a vicious attack and attempted rape last summer, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

The woman regularly worked late-night shifts and claims the facility did not provide adequate security. In fact, video footage was used to identify the attacker but there were no security guards on duty at the time. The attacker reportedly wandered around the hospital before attacking the physician.

Janice Doe's Illinois injury attorney was not cited or named by the media and it's also not clear how much the victim is seeking in damages.

It appears from the wording in her complaint that she is suing for negligence:

"[The hospital] failed to provide sufficient security by way of personnel and/or barriers on the upper floor where the defendant knew or, in the exercise of reasonable care, should have known that plaintiff was providing care after normal working hours."

Authorities say the attacker, convicted felon Marquis Allen, walked to Janice Doe's sixth-floor office and pulled a 13-inch knife on her. She grabbed and held tightly onto the knife and tightly clenched her legs, defending herself against the attempted rape.

She finally got the knife away from the attacker and stabbed him in the hand, but he was able to punch her in the neck and head before going into a bathroom to clean his wounds. Then, after taking the doctor's landline phone and cell phone, the attacker ran off.

Janice Doe suffered a stab wound to her thigh and received stitches.

In a similar lawsuit covered by the Chicago Tribune, the family of a man killed at a gas station on the South Side claims the 24-hour Mobil station did not have adequate security measures despite it being in a high-crime neighborhood.

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