A Texas district judge extended a restraining order on Monday preventing Arlington-based Texas Health Resources or its insurance company from pursing a worker's compensation claim for nurse Nina Pham, who was infected with Ebola while caring for the first U.S. patient with the deadly disease, according to The Dallas Morning News.
Ms. Pham contracted Ebola at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, and filed her lawsuit against THR, the hospital's parent company, in March. The lawsuit contained several allegations, including that the hospital violated her privacy and failed to properly train staff to care for patients with Ebola.
The restraining order in the case was originally issued to stop THR and its insurance company from filing a worker's compensation claim in April. THR's attorneys have argued the matters involved in Ms. Pham's lawsuit can be resolved through a worker's compensation claim. However, Ms. Pham's attorneys believe THR is pursuing the worker's compensation option to get the current lawsuit dismissed.
During the hearing on Monday, District Judge Martin Hoffman also determined that documents that were not provided to Ms. Pham's attorneys could be damaging to THR. Brent Walker, one of Ms. Pham's lawyers, said notes from THR's insurance adjuster's files were missing some "key things" when they were produced last week, according to the report. An attorney representing THR said the files were not provided because they were not relevant to the case. However, Judge Hoffman disagreed. After briefly viewing the documents, Judge Hoffman determined the information was relevant and it appeared "to be very damaging" to THR, according to the report.
One of the lawyers representing Ms. Pham, Charla Aldous, said she felt "very frustrated," according to the report.
"We have been playing these games with THR since the filing of this lawsuit," she said. "The company has publicly said they want to take care of Nina and do the right thing by her, but what they've been doing in this lawsuit is completely contrary to that."
THR's lawyers did not comment after the hearing, according to the report.
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