Lawsuit claims male nurse sexually assaulted 73-year-old patient at Grady

ATLANTA - The family of a 73-year-old woman has filed a lawsuit against Grady Memorial Hospital, alleging that the woman was sexually assaulted by a nurse while staying at the Atlanta facility as a patient.

Eva Lay's family accused Grady of failing to provide adequate security to protect the hospital system's vulnerable patients.

Lawsuit against Grady male nurse

What we know:

Attorneys for Lay's family filed the lawsuit in Fulton County on Wednesday.

In the lawsuit, the family claims that Lay was a patient at Grady Memorial Hospital in October 2024 while she was being treated for symptoms related to a heart condition.

The family claims that a male nursing support technician, identified only as "John Doe" in the lawsuit, entered Lay's room, closed her door, and exposed himself to her. He then allegedly sexually assaulted her.

Following the alleged assault, the lawsuit claims the defendant used a washcloth to clean himself and Lay, and removed linens from the room to hide what had happened.

Lay suffered serious mental distress from the assault, the lawsuit claims. She died a few weeks later. Her family believes the trauma of the alleged assault played a role in her death.

Attorneys for the family argue that the hospital failed to provide adequate security for Lay and other patients, including security cameras, arguing that female patients were not "adequately supervised when interacting with male staff members."

The family is asking for a trial by jury and compensatory damages.

Eva Lay's family files lawsuit

What they're saying:

"Our family is very heartbroken and outraged by the treatment they received in a place that was supposed to care and comfort her," said Corey Harris, a member of Lay’s family.

According to attorney Reginald Greene, Lay was violated while she was at her most vulnerable.

"She was a beautiful, wonderful person. And she had taken ill. She was sick and had to go to the hospital," Greene said. "She went to Grady Hospital, but instead of receiving care, she was violated in the worst possible way."

"She had a good spirit," said family member Daniel McGuire. "She helped a lot of people. When she came from the hospital, she said she didn’t want to be there no more. It was like her spirit was just broken."

"Grady Memorial Hospital had a legal and moral duty to protect its patients—especially elderly and vulnerable women—from this kind of unimaginable trauma," attorney Reginald Greene said.  "Instead, their negligence allowed a predator to violate that trust in the most horrific way possible."

"Eva Lay was a mother, grandmother, and loved by her community. She deserved dignity, care, and protection—not the violation and trauma she endured in what should have been a place of healing," attorney L. Chris Stewart said.  "This is not just a lawsuit—it is a demand for protection of our defenseless loved ones in hospital care."

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Grady Health System responds

The other side:

A spokesperson for Grady administration provided FOX 5 with the following statement.

"When we were made aware of this allegation, we immediately reported it to law enforcement and cooperated fully with their investigation. APD found no physical evidence to substantiate this claim. We defer to law enforcement regarding any additional information they wish to release.  Grady is committed to maintaining the highest standards of safety in every aspect of patient care."

What's next:

The attorneys said a criminal investigation into the alleged incident is ongoing.