Attorney: Ebola nurse to sue for negligence

DALLAS — Nurse Nina Pham plans to file a lawsuit against Texas Health Resources, the parent company of the hospital where she contracted Ebola last fall, according to her attorney.

Charla Aldous said Pham is suing for negligence and an invasion of privacy. They plan to file the lawsuit Monday in Dallas County.

The 37-page lawsuit alleges that Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital and its parent company did not provide proper training for Pham and her colleagues to care for Thomas Duncan, the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola in the United States. Duncan died Oct. 8.

Aldous says nurses were not given proper equipment to treat Ebola patients. The suit also claims the hospital invaded Pham's privacy.

"Information was disclosed to the public about Nina that she would rather have not been disclosed, including her identity," Aldous said.

Aldous said Texas Health Resources used Pham's recovery to improve its image. She claims the hospital "misrepresented some of her medical issues" as part of "damage control."

Aldous cited another incident in which a doctor filmed Pham in her treatment room and published it to a company public relations page online without Pham's consent.

Two nurses who treated Duncan contracted the deadly virus. Amber Vinson was diagnosed with the disease just days after Pham did. Both recovered.

Pham, who was first diagnosed with Ebola on Oct. 11, was initially treated at Texas Health Presbyterian, but was taken to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., five days after her diagnosis.

On Oct. 24, as she was released from NIH, Pham thanked Kent Brantly "for his selfless act" of donating plasma during her treatment. Brantly is the American physician who contracted Ebola while working with a non-profit medical mission group in Liberia. He was flown to Atlanta for treatment in August and has recovered.

"I believe in the power of prayer because I know so many people all over the world have been praying for me," Pham said in a short statement. "Although I no longer have Ebola, I know that it may be a while before I have my strength back."

Texas Health Resources spokesman Wendell Watson said by e-mail Sunday that "Nina Pham bravely served Texas Health Dallas during a most difficult time. We continue to support and wish the best for her, and we remain optimistic that constructive dialogue can resolve this matter."