The husband of a Connecticut visiting nurse who was killed during an appointment with a convicted rapist filed a wrongful death lawsuit Monday, alleging her employer repeatedly ignored workers' safety concerns about treating dangerous patients.
Instead of addressing nurses' concerns, the lawsuit alleges, the company encouraged employees to focus on increasing profitability while nurses were “chastised, shamed and gaslit, led to believe that they were overreacting.” Staff were “required to treat patients who were dangerous, mentally unstable and, frequently, unsuitable for home health care services,” the lawsuit says.
The killing spurred a call for greater protections for home health care workers in Connecticut and across the country. Connecticut lawmakers are now considering a bill that would improve safety for healthcare workers.