Family of murdered Detroit nurse plan to sue hospital for negligence
DETROIT (FOX 2) - Family of Patrice Wilson, the Detroit Medical Center nurse who was kidnapped in May before her ex-boyfriend allegedly killed her, plan to announce a $200 million lawsuit against the health care facility.
Tenet Healthcare and Detroit Medical Center contributed to the 29-year-old nurse's death when they failed to following active shooter protocol and delayed in contacting police after she was abducted on May 13, a press release from Spectrum Legal Services alleged.
Wilson was taken by Jamere Miller in the parking lot at Detroit Receiving Hospital, who later shot her multiple times. He's since been charged with several felonies after her body was found in the trunk of a vehicle outside a Novi apartment complex.
Miller, 36 of Inkster, later turned himself into police after he was named as a suspect in Wilson's death.
According to the law firm, Wilson's family believe the hospital's failure to immediately respond was racially motivated and a "sense of urgency would have been shown if the victim was Caucasian."
The release also said that security was informed of the attack before the shooting, but failed to act. Additionally, it also alleges that security was not at their station when an eyewitness of the incident saw the abduction and went to report it to staff.
"Other co-workers were getting off work, and I told them to be careful. They searched and found security," said Leisha Williams, a nurse who witnessed the shooting in a release. "By the time security came, he had pulled off. They did not place the hospital on lockdown."
RELATED: Suspect in kidnapping and murder of Detroit nurse Patrice Wilson in custody after turning self in
The suit also names a lack of security and broken cameras as reasons alleging negligence.
"The system failed her. If they (security) would have been on duty, they would have come out to question why he was standing around. They heard the shot, why didn’t nobody come out," Pamela Golden, grandmother asked. "Policies must change. It’s not going to bring Patrice back, but maybe it can help someone else."
In a statement provided Tuesday, the hospital said it was saddened by Wilson's death:
"The DMC stands behind our security team, who acted swiftly to notify and engage local law enforcement to apprehend the assailant. We continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement as they prosecute this individual for the crime committed. We cannot comment on pending litigation.
"We remain committed to providing a safe workplace environment for our staff with appropriate security measures in place. The DMC is also providing resources to help staff process the loss that occurred. We hope the criminal justice system takes the appropriate actions and sends a message to our community that domestic violence will not be tolerated."