Former Clinic Worker Sues Lindsay Lohan
A former employee at the Betty Ford Center filed suit today against Lindsay Lohan, claiming the 25-year-old actress assaulted her while undergoing treatment at the famed rehabilitation facility, resulting in “great mental, physical and nervous pain and suffering.”
Dawn Holland contends she should be awarded $1 million in damages stemming from the confrontation last Dec. 12 at the Rancho Mirage facility, where Lohan was undergoing treatment for alcohol abuse.
The lawsuit was filed at the Indio branch of Riverside County Superior Court on behalf of Holland, who was a “chemical dependency technician” at the clinic,
She claims that after arriving for work that night, she learned that Lohan and two other patients had left the facility without permission. Around 1 a.m., the three women returned and Holland asked them to submit to breathalyzer tests, according to her lawsuit.
Lohan’s two cohorts cooperated, but the actress turned “combative” and refused to submit to a test, then pushed the tech, who left the room with a co-worker, the civil complaint alleges.
When Holland went to another patient’s room, Lohan pursued her and began “yelling in an out-of-control manner,” the plaintiff alleges.
Lohan called 911 and tried to make Holland speak to a dispatcher, then “threw the phone she was holding at the plaintiff,” the court papers state.
Holland caught the cell phone, prompting Lohan to grab the woman’s wrist and attempt to wrench the phone away, “continuing to curse at plaintiff and call her derogatory names,” according to the complaint.
“In attempting to pull the phone out of plaintiff’s hand, defendant grabbed and pulled plaintiff’s right wrist, twisting it and pulling it for 8-10 seconds,” the suit alleges.
Holland said the encounter injured her wrist and resulted in post- traumatic stress disorder, requiring therapy.
“(Ms. Holland) was hurt and injured in her health, strength and activity … all of which have caused, and continue to cause, great mental, physical and nervous pain and suffering,” her lawsuit states.
No hearings have been set in the civil action.
Lohan’s attorney, Shawn Holley, did not immediately respond to calls for comment about the lawsuit.
The lawyer was in Los Angeles County Superior Court this morning to update a judge on Lohan’s progress completing a sentence of 480 hours of community service tied to a probation violation following the actress’s 2007 conviction for misdemeanor driving under the influence.
Lohan has until October to finish her community service, and has so far logged 33 hours.
The star of “Mean Girls” and the remake of “Freaky Friday” pleaded no contest in May to a misdemeanor theft charge for swiping a $2,500 necklace from a Venice jewelry store. She was sentenced to 120 days in jail and three years probation, but didn’t have to spend time behind bars. She was instead allowed to serve about one month of home detention.
