Young Muslim woman attacked in US hospital

The 19-year-old had just walked into the emergency room at the Beaumont Hospital in Dearborn last month, before a man approached her from behind and violently punched her in the head, footage showed.

A video which emerged online depicted the moment of the attack, which showed staff members promptly pouncing to the aid of the hijab-wearing Muslim.

The man, identified as 57-year-old John Deliz, was arrested and charged with assault which the victim's lawyer, Majed Moughni, said was "for no other reason but because she was a Muslim". 

Deliz pleaded guilty the next day.

"She'll never probably be the same person again. She's emotionally distressed. She's always looking behind her to make sure she's not going to get attacked again," Moughni said.

According to reports, the suspect had been discharged from the hospital on the same night, however remained on site asking people for cigarettes and lingering around the hallways.

A security officer said he could stay but only if he'd "sit down and leave the other patients alone," an investigator wrote in the report.

Moughni said the hospital had failed to protect those in the institute.

"We want to hold them accountable for not looking out for the safety of other patients," Moughni said on Friday. "Our number 1 goal is to make sure no human being is attacked the way my client was."

"[Delize] was accosting other patients and going up to other patients asking for money and asking for cigarettes," he told FOX 2 Detroit.

"Most of us when we go to hospitals, we're at the weakest point of our life," the lawyer said. 

"We are sick, we need help. The last thing we expect is a blow to the head. And a blow to a head from a total stranger. There has to be a lesson learned here. In a civilized society, you can't just punch someone and knock them to the ground. It should not be tolerated."