RIGHT NOW. THE SHOOTING REMAINS UNDER INVESTIGATION. WELL, A JURY RETURNING A $35 MILLION VERDICT AGAINST DIGNITY HEALTH METHODIST HOSPITAL OF SACRAMENTO, IT WAS FOUND LIABLE IN A CASE INVOLVING THE RAPE OF AN ICU PATIENT BY A FORMER NURSE BACK IN 2016. ATTORNEYS FOR THE VICTIM SAID THAT THE HOSPITAL DID NOT PROTECT THEIR CLIENT. THE VICTIM WAS INCAPACITATED BUT STILL ALERT. SHE REPORTED THE ABUSE WHEN SHE WAS EVENTUALLY ABLE TO REGAIN HER SPEECH. MONTHS LATER, ATTORNEYS SAY THE HOSPITAL FAILED TO INVESTIGATE, TELLING LAW ENFORCEMENT AND THE VICTIM’S FAMILY AT THE TIME THAT SHE WAS SUFFERING FROM ICU DEMENTIA. THEN, IN 2019, ATTORNEYS SAY THEIR CLIENTS SAW THE PERPETRATOR. THIS MAN, 58 YEAR OLD GREGORY HARMS, ON THE NEWS HE HAD BEEN ARRESTED FOR RAPING ANOTHER PATIENT AT A DIFFERENT HOSPITAL IN FOLSOM. THE PLAINTIFF CONTACTED SACRAMENTO POLICE, WHO TOLD HER TWO OTHER VICTIMS HAD COME FORWARD AS WELL, WITH ALLEGATIONS THAT GO BACK AS FAR AS 2011. HARMS WAS CONVICTED OF SEVERAL FELONIES RELATED TO THE ABUSE OF FEMALE PATIENTS AND IS SERVING A 28 YEAR PRISON SENTENCE. WE HAVE RE
Sacramento hospital faces $35 million verdict in nurse rape case
Updated: 6:07 PM PDT Mar 20, 2026
A jury has awarded $35 million against Dignity Health’s Methodist Hospital of Sacramento after it was found liable in a case involving the rape of an ICU patient by a former nurse in 2016. Attorneys for the victim said the hospital did not protect their client. The victim was incapacitated but still alert and reported the abuse when she was able to regain her speech a couple of months later. Attorneys also said the hospital failed to investigate, telling law enforcement and the victim’s family she was suffering from “ICU dementia.”| MORE | Dignity Delayed: Family notified over 3 years after patient died at hospital, remains kept in storageIn 2019, attorneys said their client saw the perpetrator, 58-year-old Gregory Harms, on the news after he had been arrested for raping another patient at a different hospital in Folsom. The plaintiff contacted Sacramento police, who told her two other victims had come forward as well, with allegations dating back to 2011. Harms was convicted of several felonies related to the abuse of female patients and is serving a 28-year prison sentence.We have reached out to Dignity Health for comment but have not yet heard back.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
A jury has awarded $35 million against Dignity Health’s Methodist Hospital of Sacramento after it was found liable in a case involving the rape of an ICU patient by a former nurse in 2016.
Attorneys for the victim said the hospital did not protect their client. The victim was incapacitated but still alert and reported the abuse when she was able to regain her speech a couple of months later. Attorneys also said the hospital failed to investigate, telling law enforcement and the victim’s family she was suffering from “ICU dementia.”
In 2019, attorneys said their client saw the perpetrator, 58-year-old Gregory Harms, on the news after he had been arrested for raping another patient at a different hospital in Folsom. The plaintiff contacted Sacramento police, who told her two other victims had come forward as well, with allegations dating back to 2011.
Harms was convicted of several felonies related to the abuse of female patients and is serving a 28-year prison sentence.
We have reached out to Dignity Health for comment but have not yet heard back.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel