Sara M. filed suit after Therese D.--a fellow medical assistant--allegedly poured carbolic acid into Sara's water bottle.
And when their employer--AMN Healthcare, Inc.--moved to have the claims against the company dismissed, both the Superior Court of San Diego County and the California Fourth Appellate District Court of Appeal were of the view that, in order for AMN to be liable, Therese's conduct needed to have a "causal nexus" to her work. Since her actions were neither "incidental" to her duties nor reasonably foreseeable, AMN was let out of the case.
An additional claim, that AMN negligently failed to train Therese, was also dismissed because any purported deficiency in that regard wasn't found to have precipitated (nor would have prevented) the encounter.
That sure was poisonous.
To view a copy of the Appellate District's decision, please use this link: M. v. AMN Healthcare, Inc.