LOXAHATCHEE, Fla. — The attorney for a nurse who was brutally attacked at HCA Florida Palms West Hospital last month is officially petitioning the hospital for documents and evidence related to the attack.
Deputies said the injured nurse, Leelamma Lal, was beaten so badly by the patient, Stephen Scantlebury, that "essentially every bone" was broken in her face.
WATCH BELOW: Attorney of injured nurse petitions hospital for evidence
The "Petition for Pure Bill of Discovery," filed Thursday morning in Palm Beach County court, is a legal document that requests the court to allow Lal and her attorney to obtain certain documents and evidence related to the Feb 18 attack.
In the petition, attorney Karen Terry is asking for multiple pieces of evidence, including:
- Any and all videos/photographs of Scantlebury during his time at Palms West
- Copies of Scantlebury’s entire medical record from the hospital
- Recordings of calls on Feb. 17-18, if any, that made to any facility that accepts Baker Act patients
- Incident report(s) involving the incident
- All policies and procedures in effect in February 2025 that deal with the admission, treatment and safety protocol involving a Baker Act patient
As WPTV previously reported, Scantlebury was Baker Acted at Palms West, which is not a Baker Act receiving facility.
"He went there on February 17th, and it was February 18th that Miss Lal was attacked, so a whole day and a half to two days to transfer this Baker Act patient to a proper facility that could handle him," Terry told Investigative Reporter, Kate Hussey. "So I want to get a handle on what security— if any — there was in the hospital and what policies and procedures there were for handling patients that either came in as a Baker Act that they Baker Acted themselves."
Read the full petition below:
In the petition, Terry also requests an accelerated hearing on the matter, and is asking for an order that prevents any changes, transfers or destruction of relevant evidence related to the case.
"This is information that's important for us to get, Palms West is not going to release it without a court order," said Terry, "and we're under a time clock here."
In Florida, attorneys only have two years to file a claim, and Terry said already she's faced obstacles obtaining evidence due to the ongoing criminal investigation.
"I've requested a lot of documentation already, 911 calls and other information, and I've received already a lot of objections telling me there's a criminal investigation going on, we can't give this information to you," said Terry.
The petition also notes that the law firm anticipates filing claims against HCA Florida Palms West for the horrific injuries that the nurse sustained.
Terry said Lal is now off the ventilator, and has regained some vision in one eye, but appears to have neurological damage. She also said Lal is undergoing major facial reconstruction surgery Sunday.
Last Wednesday, a risk protection order was filed in Scantlebury's case, meaning he will not have access to firearms for at least the next two weeks. A motion on whether to extend that order is scheduled for March 11.
Scantlebury remains in jail. He pleaded not guilty to a second-degree attempted murder charge with a hate crime enhancement for allegedly shouting racial slurs while beating Lal.
A friend of Lal's family set up a fundraiser to help her as she recovers. The organizer shared plans to attend Thursday's hearing as a show of support for the nurse and her family.
Lal remains hospitalized in stable condition and is scheduled to have another surgery on Sunday.
