The practice of hospitals dumping homeless patients on Skid Row was considered an urban myth for years, until highly-publicized incidents caught on video drew local and national attention to the issue.
Video: The Southern California Inquisitor
The Los Angeles City Attorney’s office has opened investigations into 55 reports of hospitals allegedly dumping homeless patients throughout the city. This decision comes a few weeks after a highly publicized incident where a paraplegic patient was dumped on a street in Skid Row in broad daylight. The investigation and videos which have documented attempts of homeless dumping have drawn attention to an issue which activists and workers say has been happening for years.
California state senator Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, has introduced legislation in Sacramento that would make hospitals or staff criminally liable for dumping homeless patients. If it is passed, the bill would be the first of its kind in the country, but it also explores uncharted legal waters.
This, along with three separate legal actions against a hospital over one high-profile dumping incident, could set new precedents for the legal and medical communities over how to treat and discharge homeless patients.
In an effort to curb homeless dumping and alleviate conditions in Skid Row, Los Angeles County officials have proposed a plan to disperse its homeless population to five regional homeless centers throughout the county where they can receive social services, treatment, and shelter. But the plan, along with other proposals to relocate or open facilities for the homeless throughout Los Angeles, is facing stiff opposition from residents who would be affected by the arrival of homeless people in their neighborhoods.
Copyright 2006 The Southern California Inquisitor Privacy Policy
The University of Southern California does not screen or control the content on this website and thus does not guarantee the accuracy, integrity, or quality of such content. All content on this website is provided by and is the sole responsibility of the person from which such content originated, and such content does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the University administration or the Board of Trustees
Senator's Bill Would Criminalize Dumping of Homeless Patients
Centers Would Disperse Homeless Across L.A. County