Block v. Gomez

In Block v. Gomez, 201 Wis. 2d 795, 806, 549 N.W.2d 783 (Ct. App. 1996), the plaintiff was involved in a sexual relationship with her drug abuse counselor that occurred during her treatment. The plaintiff sought to hold the clinic vicariously liable for the counselor's actions. The court held that he was acting outside the scope of his employment because the employee knew that his employer forbade such conduct. See id. at 807. The employee undisputedly stepped aside from the Clinic's business to procure a purely personal benefit. See id. The Court said: "Because the legislature has expressly precluded the patient's consent from being considered as an issue, it was improper for the jury to consider whether Block's actions contributed to her injuries." Block, 201 Wis. 2d at 810. In Block, the clinic was found to have negligently supervised the counselor. See Block, 201 Wis. 2d at 801. Thus, in Block the Court already determined that a clinic cannot raise contributory negligence against a client harmed by a counselor's sexual contacts.