Leela Lal suffered at the hands of a hospital patient who jumped on her and brutally beat her. The alleged attack occurred last week at HCA Florida Palms West Hospital. The patient, Stephen Scantlebury, was eventually captured while running barefoot on a major roadway.
Since then, Scantlebury has been charged with attempted second-degree murder in connection with the nurse’s beating. He appeared in court for the first time this week.
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Scantlebury did not speak when he appeared before the judge. Those in the courtroom to support him, including his wife, also left without saying anything.
Although they acknowledge they have many questions themselves, his lawyers agreed to speak.
They said Scantlebury was a Baker Act patient, meaning a patient who is admitted involuntarily for a 72-hour psychiatric stay for a mental health exam. The hospital, however, admitted him to a standard patient room that was not secure, his lawyers said.
Instead of being taken to a Baker Act institution, Scantlebury was admitted to the third floor and was having telemetry with 67-year-old nurse Leela Lal when he allegedly jumped on her.
Scantlebury’s lawyers also wonder why he willingly checked himself into the hospital but was “Baker Acted.”
“This was a very tragic situation that happened. For what we know right now, Mr. Scantlebury was ‘Baker Acted’ by Palms West Hospital when he had already admitted himself to the hospital,” said Adam Rossen, an attorney for Scantlebury, according to WPBF.
According to the defense, Scantlebury had been exhibiting paranoid behavior for a few days, but they think he checked himself into Palms West with chest symptoms before being placed on mental health hold.
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“Why, if he was Baker Acted, was he not transported? What was the medical concern? What wasn’t? We don’t know all of that. There’s a lot that happened. What medication was he on when he was ‘Baker Acted?’” questioned Scott Simmons, another attorney for Scantlebury.
Lal suffered critical injuries. As stated in an affidavit, “essentially every bone in the victim’s face is broken, and the victim is likely to lose the use of both eyes.”
Lal’s daughter asked the judge to hold Scantlebury without bond, claiming that she and her family are terrified and that he is a danger to the community.
“I just couldn’t get the image of him on top of my mom beating her repeatedly. It was really hard to see that in my heart. Something you’re probably never going to get rid of,” her daughter, Dr. Cindy Joseph, said.
Although they have questions, Scantlebury’s attorneys say they are not at this time condemning the hospital or justifying the attack.
“And if the hospital did fail, that obviously accounts into a lot of things when you’re talking about mental health and why this happened,” Simmons said. “You know, was there security in his room? Was he properly medicated? If he should have did the policies and procedures that he should have been sedated or restrained? And why wasn’t he, if he was supposed to?”
Scantlebury will have another hearing in a few days.
