Should Assault Victim Get $12 Million From Spa Chain?
A sexual assault victim is seeking $12 million from a Texas based spa chain saying they were negligent when a former employee was convicted of assaulting her four years ago.
According to the Houston Chronicle:
The Massage Heights therapist, Mario Rubio, was convicted in the 2017 assault and is serving an 18-year prison term. The woman Rubio digitally attacked during a 90-minute session at Alden Bridge says the spa owner and chain had a history of skirting blame in the wake of previous assaults at franchises. The customer contends the business was willfully negligent in failing to properly train, supervise and discipline Rubio and should be held liable for harm that happened on its watch.
The Chronicle reports there were 24 instances of sexual contact by employees of Massage Heights since 2010. The story says the lawyers in the civil suit say there have been 53 allegations of sexual misconduct at locations of the chain across the country.
The spa parent company lawyers say they did not control the process of hiring, training, and firing of Rubio according to the Chronicle's story.
So, is $12 million a justifiable amount of compensation to the victim in this case? And is the parent company liable for that amount?
I do not profess to be a lawyer, this man is a sick individual, and this is a horrible thing that happened to this victim, so it is difficult to determine if the parent company is liable for this compensation.
What are your thoughts, your opinion, and your reaction to this story? Should the parent company be ultimately responsible since they represent the spa in question? That is ultimately what needs to be answered.