Nurse who survived Ebola is suing the hospital

[anon456]

For ongoing pain and suffering, loss of future income, and privacy violations among other things. I wonder if she will win?

If nurses contract a disease (in general) because proper protocols were not in place, have you heard of them suing in other cases? Not only for diseases but for injuries?

Newspaper: Nurse who survived Ebola says hospital failed her - San Jose Mercury News

[TheGooch]

Good for her. I hope she wins.

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

good for her.

This has a chance to set a great precedent on changing the corporization of healthcare.

Sending positive vibes and support to Ms. Pham.

[ShelbyaStar]

Good! If NOTHING else, the invasions of privacy for the nurses involved have been insane. I hope she wins and this sets a precedent.

[FLAlleycat]

Ouch! I about bit my lip off!

Anyway, you'd think the least they would do is refurnish her apartment, wardrobe, etc. How sad the wedding's off, but guess it's best to find out if "in sickness and in health" is going to hold up before the vowels.

[Nibbles1]

Presbyterian used this poor girl as their PR. They didn't have proper gear and had to tape their exposed necks. She deserves every single cent from "Presby Proud!"

[FLAlleycat]

There have been a lot of nasty comments on the internet about Nina Pham and her decision to sue. Some saying she's a gold digger and others saying that every nurse knows and accepts the risks when they enter this field, and she should just be thankful she's alive. I wonder if these same people would say this to a firefighter who was injured because he wasn't given proper equipment. I applaud her decision to sue. I think she's courageous to speak out, knowing that it will likely cost her her career. She should be compensated and other employers should take note. Nurses are not an expendable resource and we deserve to have the appropriate tools to do our jobs safely.

Well, color me shocked! Appears firefighters get the same lack of sympathy.

Families sue Arizona over 2013 wildfire that killed 19 firefighters | Daily Mail Online

[pco8]

If she does get compensated, I hope it's only for the amount of her medical bills/furnishing her apartment and future medical expenses (I read somewhere that her medical expenses from THR/NIH were taken care of & she didn't have to pay for anything). It doesn't surprise me that THR was not ready. With the exception of a few hospitals, the US was not prepared for Ebola. Nina needs to understand that outside of Emory & the NIH, THR was the first hospital to handle an Ebola case. They gave her the best care possible and then was sent to the NIH for further treatment. The CDC is more at fault here than THR. They're the ones who set the guidelines we have to follow. She should be going after the CDC for not prepping THR or any other hospital for Ebola.

I'm pretty sure it is her lawyer, Charla Aldous, who contacted her first and not Nina. It's payday for Charla and her firm. If they do go to court and Nina wins great. If they lose, what's Nina going to do without a job? No hospital in the area would want her for fear of a lawsuit. I hope they settle this outside of court.

[edmia, BSN, RN]

Several years ago, a nurse that I knew contracted a very virulent strain of cdiff when there was an outbreak of this strain. She went through hospitalizations, home infusion therapy and TPN. She was denied workers compensation and ended up on public assistance and was hoping to be approved for the last ditch effort, fecal transplant.

I have a feeling that this is going to be a landmark case for those who provide direct patient care. I hope that it is tried in Federal court and that the Duncan family waives HIPAA so that she can testify without fear of reprisal.

This lawsuit is perfectly positioned to be the catalyst we need to expose corporate greed in healthcare and pass legislation for safe ratios, safe working conditions and more.

Once again Nina, the world is watching you fight back and this time, we are proud of you for taking a stand.

I really hope the same. Time to shine a light on the work we really do and the lack of support we get.

Sent from my iPhone -- blame all errors on spellcheck

[Anna Flaxis, BSN, RN]

The "Ebola Crisis" caused me a significant amount of distress. When my workplace started preparing, they gave us PPE that left parts of our skin exposed. The room they selected to place potential Ebola patients had glass doors, and I was told that the doctors would not be required to go inside- they could just look in through the glass. The phlebotomists would not be required to go inside- the nurse would do all of the blood draws. Housekeeping would not be required to go inside- the nurse would do the cleaning. When I questioned all of this, the exact words were "It's for the greater good".

Paramedics are flogged with "scene safety" and are not required to put themselves in harm's way in order to do their job- because if you don't take care of yourself and keep yourself safe, then you can't take care of the victim.

And yet, nurses are expected to sacrifice themselves for the greater good.

Good for Nina Pham. I hope she wins.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

She deserves to win an enormous settlement -- she went to work one day, took care of the patients assigned to her with the equipment provided and ended up contracting ebola. Then her requests for privacy were ignored and she was at the center of a media storm for weeks. We all read about how her apartment was "cleaned out" and her things destroyed, the threat of destroying her dog due to fear that he might be contagious, and about her diagnosis and condition. Her name and picture were associated with ebola in the United States and plastered over television, magazines, newspapers and the internet. Her employer owes her more than the paycheck they're still giving her. She faces ongoing fears of organ damage and further health concerns. I cannot imagine how anyone -- especially a nurse -- could say she doesn't deserve to sue and win.

[Gooselady, BSN, RN]

I don't know what to think, I can see more than one totally obvious side. Mostly, I'm glad for the attention being drawn to the plight of nurses trying to do their jobs in spite of corporation mediated cost cuts. In general I am not impressed with how litigious people can get, but in this case, with what Presbyterian already knew about Ebola AND it's contagion, that two nurses who took care of that poor man contracted it is terrifying.

Unfortunately it usually takes something like this to put adequate safety measures into place, that's how the corporations roll. One or two casualties to 'prove' they fall short, and then we'll pay 'em off and institute (I hope) adequate PPE etc. If were her, even though I would be reluctant to sue, it would be worth doing it just to make one more 'case' for how casually nurses are regarded when it comes to their own safety.

Especially people in the emergency rooms . . . anything will walk in that door. We are people, not statistics.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

Presbyterian used this poor girl as their PR. They didn't have proper gear and had to tape their exposed necks. She deserves every single cent from "Presby Proud!"

They didn't tape their necks. They taped the gowns so that their necks would no longer be exposed.