The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has allowed a nurse at an assisted living center to sue her former employer for fostering a hostile workplace environment after she was allegedly  assaulted repeatedly by a resident who suffers from dementia.

While appellate courts have allowed workers to sue their employers over the actions of nonemployees for contributing to a hostile workplace environment in certain circumstances, the Fifth Circuit noted that Gardner v. CLC was especially difficult to resolve because the patient who allegedly caused the hostile work environment had a diminished capacity.