Davis V. the Board of County Commissioners of Doña Ana County Case
Davis v. The Board of County Commissioners of Doña Ana County Case
What was the legal issue in this case?
The plaintiff, Davis is suing Dona Ana County. The plaintiff was a patient at Mesilla Valley Hospital (MVH) in their inpatient mental facility, while she was in their care one of the mental health technicians, Joseph Herrera sexually assaulted her. She is suing the County of Dona Ana, because Herrera used to be a detention sergeant for the county, while employed there he was found to have been sexually harassing and abusing female inmates. His superiors Steele and Mochen were aware of his misconducts and were planning on suspending him, however prior to the suspension Herrera resigned. Upon his resignation Herrera asked his superiors for a letter of recommendation, he was given a letter of recommendation stating that he was an exemplary employee, and one that they would hire again. The legal issue in this case is to determine whether or not the county’s letter of recommendation cause third-party harm to the plaintiff, Davis? Did the positive feedback in the letter cause MVH to hire someone who was potentially unsafe to their patients? (Walsh, 2009).
Why does the court conclude that Doña Ana County could be held liable for negligent referral (misrepresentation)?
In this case the court concluded that Dona Ana County could be held liable for a negligent referral on the basis that each citizen has a basic responsibility to not bring harm to one another, and to make every effort to stop harm from happening to someone. In this case the County did not take the proper steps to ensure public safety. Without overly speculating on all the various scenarios that might or might not have played out had the County provided truthful information, at the end of the day the County not only omitted truth; which is misleading within itself, but they also falsified the information that was provided to Herrera’s future employers taking away their ability to make fully educated
What was the legal issue in this case?
The plaintiff, Davis is suing Dona Ana County. The plaintiff was a patient at Mesilla Valley Hospital (MVH) in their inpatient mental facility, while she was in their care one of the mental health technicians, Joseph Herrera sexually assaulted her. She is suing the County of Dona Ana, because Herrera used to be a detention sergeant for the county, while employed there he was found to have been sexually harassing and abusing female inmates. His superiors Steele and Mochen were aware of his misconducts and were planning on suspending him, however prior to the suspension Herrera resigned. Upon his resignation Herrera asked his superiors for a letter of recommendation, he was given a letter of recommendation stating that he was an exemplary employee, and one that they would hire again. The legal issue in this case is to determine whether or not the county’s letter of recommendation cause third-party harm to the plaintiff, Davis? Did the positive feedback in the letter cause MVH to hire someone who was potentially unsafe to their patients? (Walsh, 2009).
Why does the court conclude that Doña Ana County could be held liable for negligent referral (misrepresentation)?
In this case the court concluded that Dona Ana County could be held liable for a negligent referral on the basis that each citizen has a basic responsibility to not bring harm to one another, and to make every effort to stop harm from happening to someone. In this case the County did not take the proper steps to ensure public safety. Without overly speculating on all the various scenarios that might or might not have played out had the County provided truthful information, at the end of the day the County not only omitted truth; which is misleading within itself, but they also falsified the information that was provided to Herrera’s future employers taking away their ability to make fully educated
References: Krasnow, W. (n.d.). Employer liability for employee misconduct. Retrieved April 20, 2013 from http://www.haslaw.com/wp-content/uploads/publications/ Employer%20 Liability%20for%20Employee%20Misconduct.pdf. Walsh, D. J. (2009). Employment Law for Human Resource Practice.