Arrest of Nursing Assistant Leads to $1 Million Suit

An 87-year-old woman who claims a trip to Providence St. Vincent Hospital for treatment for a heart condition turned into a night mare when she was raped by a certified nursing assistant is suing the hospital.

The woman charges the hospital with negligence and abuse of a vulnerable person. She was allegedly attacked by Adeladilew Mekonen who was arrested last week by the Washington County Sheriff's Office.

The woman's suit, filed in Multnomah County Court, says that Providence should have kept Mekonen from being alone with patients after a 94-year-old patient came forward with allegations that she had been attacked by him.

Mekonen was suspended while those allegations were investigated. When they couldn't be substantiated, he was reinstated.

After he was arrested, he was fired.

Meknonen is due back in court on Thursday.