Nina Pham became the first person on U.S. soil to contract the Ebola virus last fall, and while she has technically recovered from the disease itself, it is still affecting her life on a daily basis. Now, four months after being released from the hospital, Pham alleges that she still has body aches, nightmares and insomnia because of her frightening ordeal and it is time to hold someone accountable. It has been confirmed that the young nurse will file a lawsuit against Texas Health Resources tomorrow, March 2.
Pham first came into contact with Ebola late last September when Thomas Eric Duncan was assigned to her as a patient at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. The virus killed him and quickly infected Pham because the hospital staff had not had proper training in how to treat Ebola patients. Mistakes made by the staff caused Pham and Amber Vinson to become infected with the virus.
In an interview with The Dallas Morning News last week, Pham explained how the employer that she expected to protect her instead let her down.
"I wanted to believe that they would have my back and take care of me, but they just haven't risen to the occasion," she said, saying that Texas Health Resources was negligent because it failed to develop policies and train its staff for treating Ebola patients.
She said Texas Health Resources did not have proper protective gear for those who treated Duncan.
Pham said she will file a lawsuit Monday in Dallas County against Texas Health Resources, alleging that while she became the American face of the fight against the disease, the hospital's lack of training and proper equipment and violations of her privacy made her "a symbol of corporate neglect -- a casualty of a hospital system's failure to prepare for a known and impending medical crisis," explained the report.
Truth be told, this lawsuit was probably inevitable. It was lack of training that caused Pham to become sick in the first place and Texas Health Resources is squarely to blame for that. Maybe an even bigger question is how long it will be before Vinson also decides to sue.
Do you blame Pham for deciding to finally hold someone accountable for her illness? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.
