Lawsuit alleges nurse gave man lethal dose of insulin: Suit- A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Butler, Pennsylvania, on behalf of the family of Nicholas Cymbol, who died on May 1 of last year.
The lawsuit alleges that Heather Pressdee, a unit manager at the time, injected Cymbol with an excessive and lethal dose of insulin. Pressdee was charged last May with the deaths of two patients and the hospitalization of a third at Quality Life Services, a skilled nursing facility in Chicora. She is linked to at least 17 patient deaths at five other facilities where she worked, with each case accusing her of giving the victims deadly levels of insulin.
Before Pressdee was hired by Sunnyview, she had been fired or forced to resign from ten local medical facilities in the span of four years. Despite concerns raised by other nurses about Pressdee’s behavior, the nursing home allowed her to continue as unit manager. The lawsuit aims to uncover how these facilities allowed these tragedies to occur and to prevent future incidents.
Pressdee is in the Butler County Jail, facing four counts of homicide. The lawsuit against Sunnyview comes on the heels of two earlier this month against Belair Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center on behalf of the families of Jack Rogers and Normal Hendrickson. The lawsuit also alleges that Pressdee was particularly abusive to Cymbol, routinely insulting, berating, bullying, and abusing him, calling him gross and saying that he was going to be the next one to die anyway. Despite these concerns, management did nothing to remove Pressdee from caring for Cymbol or any other patients.
Pressdee has been charged with killing two patients in her care through lethal doses of insulin and has confessed to trying to kill 19 people at different rehabilitation centers where she worked. She allegedly administered excessive amounts of insulin to 19 patients, some of whom were diabetic and others not, at five different care facilities from 2020 to this year.
Ultimately, 17 patients in her care have died. New charges were filed against her: two counts of first-degree murder, 17 counts of attempted murder, and 19 counts of neglect of a care-dependent person, in connection with the 19 patients she allegedly mistreated. Pressdee typically administered the insulin during overnight shifts when there was low staffing and the emergencies would not prompt immediate hospitalization.
The complaint against Pressdee noted that if she sensed the victim would “pull through,” there is a pattern of her taking additional measures to try to kill the victims before they could be sent to the hospital by either administering a second dose of insulin or the use of an air embolism to ensure death. The two first-degree murder charges are in connection with two patient deaths at Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. Pressdee was arraigned and remains in custody at Butler County Prison without bail. Her attorneys aim to avoid the death penalty.
The lawsuit against Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center highlights the systemic failures in patient safety and the need for accountability in healthcare facilities. It underscores the importance of vigilance and action against negligent healthcare providers who pose a direct threat to patient lives.
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