Suit: Woman attacked in Beaumont Dearborn ER

Fewer than five seconds after the patient stepped to the emergency room desk at Beaumont Hospital in Dearborn one night last month, she appeared to be pummeled by someone, surveillance video shows.

The footage captured the 19-year-old talking with an employee as a disheveled man walks briskly from behind then, without warning, starts striking her with his fist. The woman wore a dark blue head covering identifying her as a Muslim.

Staffers immediately went to her aid, and the attacker — who police records show had been warned about harassing others in the lobby — was arrested then charged with assault. But a lawsuit recently filed in Wayne County Circuit Court alleges the incident would not have happened if hospital officials had properly monitored the man.

“We want to hold them accountable for not looking out for the safety of other patients,” Majed Moughni, the victim’s attorney, said Friday. “Our No. 1 goal is to make sure no human being is attacked the way my client was.”

Reached Friday, Beaumont representatives acknowledged the incident in the waiting room but insisted workers acted appropriately.

“Beaumont security personnel responded immediately and took action to protect the patient and others in the emergency room,” the hospital said in a statement. “Dearborn Police were contacted and Beaumont staff cooperated fully in the investigation. We take pride in our service to this diverse community and want all patients to feel welcome at Beaumont.”

The teen victim, who lives in Dearborn, had gone to the emergency room at about 3:30 a.m. Feb. 10 for a slip and fall accident, according to her lawsuit.

A police report shows the same night, the man charged in the attack, John Salvatore Deliz, had been discharged but lingered in the ER lobby to await a ride, seeking cigarettes from others and wandering hallways.

A security officer said he could stay but only if he’d “sit down and leave the other patients alone,” an investigator wrote in the report.

The attack appeared unprovoked; the victim had not met Deliz before, and Moughni believes the man hit her “for no other reason but because she was a Muslim,” he wrote in a court filing.

Deliz, 57, who also is named in the lawsuit, was arraigned March 7 in Dearborn’s 19th District Court. He remains in custody and faces a competency hearing on May 30, public records show.

The defense attorney listed as representing him did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday night.

Meanwhile, the victim, who seeks some $25,000 in damages, was injured and remains haunted by the assault, Moughni said. “She’ll never probably be the same person again. She’s emotionally distressed. She’s always looking behind her to make sure she’s not going to get attacked again.”