A court awarded a Canadian man $39,000 after he was injured as a hospital security officer carried him out of a hospital in 2006.
Denis Provencher, 67, claims that he suffered a laceration on his head after a security guard carried him out of St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver on the morning of March 17, 2006 and dropped him on a sidewalk. Provencer argued he suffers migraines, headaches, vertigo, tinnitus, hearing problems, short-term memory loss and post-traumatic stress disorder because of the incident, according to theprovince.com.
Provencher, who uses a cane, says he was sitting in the hospital’s emergency room waiting area when Paul Elgeldinger, a hospital security guard, confronted him without identifying himself and asked him what he was doing in the emergency room. Provencer says after talking to a nurse Elgeldinger picked him up from his seat and carried him outside, where he dropped him, causing Provencer to black out.
When Provencer awoke he told the court he felt “left for dead” and was still refused entry into the hospital to check his wounds. He eventually called the police and was brought to Vancouver General Hospital.
Elgendinger testified that Provencer was rude and swung his cane at Elgendinger when he confronted him. Elgendinger says he and another security guard walked Provencer out of the hospital by the arms. In the end, the court sided with Provencer.
