Originally posted by: O2bnVegas
Assault is a legal term. I don't know how hard to prove in court.
In my job I was told it was "assault" for a nurse to lay hands on a patient who objected to it. I recall a sad case, patient was paraplegic, emaciated, bed bound, had come in with a deep sacral ulcer. Staff needed to clean his rear end after BMs or the ulcer wouldn't heal. He started objecting to being cleaned/bathed/wound care, his way of exerting control over his situation, the psych docs said. Nurses couldn't clean him. Odor permeated the hallways. Had to get him declared incompetent to make that decision, get a representative to declare that staff should forceably do the cleaning/bathing and wound care. His brother provided the permission, this was explained to him, that staff would provide those care actions despite his objections, forcibly if necessary. After that he stopped objecting. Who'd of thunk it...
Sorry I digressed from the topic. But I think of this every time "assault" or "battery" comes up in conversation. Right now I can't recall the distinction between the two, which I'll look up later.
Candy
Physical contact = battery. The threat or attempt thereof = assault. That's why people are rarely charged with simple battery, because it would have to be unintentional (as the result of negligence, otherwise it wouldn't be a crime at all).
Re your patient: isn't it hospital policy that a patient cannot, and can be forcibly prevented from if necessary, disrupt the operations of the hospital and the care of other patients? It seems to me that generating a horrific stink should qualify.
I'm reminded of seven hellish days when I shared a hospital room with a man who was pretty much exactly like the man you described. He stank to high heaven and screamed at the nurses whenever they tried to clean him up. He also yelled out demands at random times, including in the middle of the night. I was told that he'd been there for several weeks. I finally said that if they didn't move me (I had asked several times), I would self-discharge. As they wheeled me out, I could hear him cussing out the nurses.
Now, he may have had certain rights, but if I had had a roll of Duct tape handy...