Suit: Elgin woman sexually assaulted at Aurora hospital

A woman disabled by spina bifida is suing an Aurora hospital, claiming she was assaulted by another patient while being treated for depression.

The lawsuit, filed Jan. 28 in Kane County Circuit Court, alleges Provena Mercy Medical Center failed to protect the woman from a patient in the psychiatric unit.

The woman, who was 39 at the time, alleges the man entered her room Jan. 30, 2006, and sexually attacked her. The woman's attorney, Keith Johnson, says the alleged assailant, who now lives in an Elgin care facility, was not charged in the incident because police apparently took his significant psychiatric condition into account.

The lawsuit seeks damages of more than $50,000 from Provena Mercy Medical Center, which has not returned telephone calls for comment.