Readers remember the Ebola scare that occurred a couple years ago. As that scare was picking up steam, hospitals were taking precautionary measures to contain any appearance of the virus. Such efforts were fairly successful, though not bulletproof. In one case, a nurse contracted Ebola in a Dallas hospital while caring for the first person diagnosed with the disease in the United States.
That nurse reached a settlement last month with the Dallas hospital where her infection occurred. She sued last year, accusing the hospital of failing to take reasonable steps to prevent her from contracting the Ebola virus and for invading her privacy after she was diagnosed.
Among other things, the nurse claimed in her lawsuit that the hospital failed to initially provide nurses the right protective equipment and to train them on treating those who had Ebola. She also claimed the hospital was deceptive in the information it provided to the public about her recovery from the condition, making the situation seem better than it was. The terms of her settlement with the hospital are not known.
The nurse was one of two who became infected with Ebola after caring for the same patient. Interestingly, an Ohio bridal ship the other nurse had visited after contracting the virus but before her diagnosis also sued the Dallas hospital for its negligence in handling the matter. The bridal shop, which levels essentially the same allegations as the other nurse did in her suit against the hospital, apparently had to close for several weeks after its contamination from the nurse became known. The shop was forced to close its doors for good in early 2015.
In our next post, we’ll continue looking at this stories and what they say about the issue of hospital negligence.
Sources:
Fox News, “Texas hospital reaches settlement with nurse infected with Ebola,” October 25, 2016.
Fox News, “Nurse who had Ebola released from Emory Hospital: ‘First and foremost I thank God,’ October 28, 2014.
Fox News, “Ohio bridal shop that closed amid Ebola scare sues hospital,” Oct. 6, 2016.