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Ebola Nurse Nina Pham Settles With Texas Presbyterian

Nina Pham's time as poster child for Ebola is coming to an end, a little more than two years after contracting the Ebola virus while working as a nurse at Dallas' Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital.  Monday afternoon, Pham and Presbyterian's parent company, Texas Health Resources, announced that they'd settled Pham's lawsuit...
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Nina Pham's time as poster child for Ebola is coming to an end, a little more than two years after contracting the Ebola virus while working as a nurse at Dallas' Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. 

Monday afternoon, Pham and Presbyterian's parent company, Texas Health Resources, announced that they'd settled Pham's lawsuit against the hospital. She filed the suit after contracting Ebola from Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person diagnosed with the virus in the United States, in October 2014.

"Texas Health Resources and Ms. Pham have resolved the pending lawsuit, and wish the best for each other going forward,” according to a joint statement. "All parties have agreed the terms of the resolution are confidential and will not make additional statements or grant media interviews."

When Duncan was admitted to Presbyterian two Septembers ago, Pham was, according to the suit, assigned to treat Duncan after being given little training in how to protect herself from Ebola. When she asked for information on preventing transmission, a supervisor handed her a Google print-out. As a result, Pham did not cover her hair or neck as she began treating Duncan.

After she was diagnosed with Ebola, Pham was featured in a Texas Health Resources promotional video, laughing with the doctors treating her. In her suit, she claimed that the video was a public relations stunt and an invasion of privacy. She claimed hospital employees hounded her to sign away the right to her likeness when her medical records showed that she was incapable of making her own decisions.

With Pham's lawsuit settled, Texas Health Resources' legal attentions turn to a lawsuit filed earlier this month by Coming Attractions, an Ohio bridal shop. Amber Vinson, the second and final nurse at Presbyterian to contract Ebola, visited the shop after her infection. The shop subsequently closed its doors for good, citing a "continued loss of business." Coming Attractions is seeking damages for loss of inventory it claims happened due to the hospital's negligence.

Nina Pham Lawsuit by StephenYoung on Scribd


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