"every bone in the victim's face is broken"
A US Indian nurse in Florida was brutally attacked at Palms West Hospital, leading to widespread outrage and calls for stronger protections for healthcare workers.
The victim, 67-year-old Leelamma Lal, suffered severe facial fractures after being assaulted by a patient.
Stephen Scantlebury was arrested shortly after the incident.
According to investigators, he appeared shirtless, shoeless, and covered in EKG leads.
Authorities said he assaulted Lal and made derogatory remarks about her Indian heritage.
He now faces charges of attempted second-degree murder with a hate crime enhancement.
It was reported that Scantlebury was a psychiatric patient on a Baker Act hold, meaning he had been hospitalised involuntarily after a mental health crisis.
According to an arrest affidavit, he was on a bed on the third floor when he suddenly attacked Lal, hitting her repeatedly. Witnesses said he jumped on the bed before launching the attack.
Lal’s injuries are extensive. She suffered multiple fractures throughout her face and is likely to lose her eyesight. She had to be airlifted to the nearest trauma unit for emergency treatment.
The affidavit stated: “Essentially every bone in the victim’s face is broken and the victim is likely to lose the use of both eyes.”
Her daughter, Cindy, described the severity of the injuries:
“I couldn’t recognise her. Both eyes were swollen, she was intubated, her whole face on the right side was swollen, multiple fractures throughout her face, bleeding in the brain.”
Palm Beach County Deputy Sergeant Beth Newcomb testified that Scantlebury made racist remarks after the attack.
He was quoted as saying, “Indians are bad” and “I just beat the (expletive) out of an Indian doctor.”
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office has added a hate crime charge to Scantlebury’s attempted second-degree murder charge.
He managed to flee the hospital before being caught running on a road.
His wife, Megan Scantlebury, testified in court that he had been experiencing paranoia in the days leading up to the attack.
She said: “He thought there were people trying to harm him. He thought that our house was bugged, that there was people listening.
“He thought I was involved. He thought the neighbours were involved.”
The violent attack has led to a petition demanding stricter safety measures and harsher penalties for those who assault healthcare workers.
The petition has already gathered over 9,500 signatures.
Healthcare advocate Dr Cheryl Thomas-Harcum said:
“I looked at Leela, I looked at her as helpless.”
“I looked at her as a woman that had devoted her life to this profession, and at the tail end of her career, she had to sustain something so vicious.”
Highlighting the frequency of violence against healthcare workers, she added:
“There are people, many people, who come into a hospital and feel it’s open sesame to abuse a nurse or health care worker.
“I’ve experienced it firsthand. I would say on a bi-weekly basis. It could even be as frequent as a week.”
The Indian Nurses Association of South Florida also spoke out, stressing that this issue affects all healthcare workers, regardless of background.
Dr Manju Samuel said: “The issue here is the risk to our healthcare workers because there are no specific laws to protect the staff.
“There is a deficiency and that must be addressed by lawmakers.”
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