Lawsuit of the Day: Worst Safety Drill — and Christmas Eve — Ever
Hampton Behavioral Health Center is a mental health clinic in New Jersey. Its website makes the place seem quite tranquil: lots of pastels and photos of clouds. A safe place.
The tranquility was disrupted on Christmas Eve 2007 when a masked gunman burst into the clinic’s pharmacy, reports Courthouse News Service. The gunman told pharmacy worker, Babette Perry, that he had already taken another hospital worker hostage and demanded Oxycontin. Perry tried to call for help but the phone line was down.
But it turns out this was all just a surprise safety drill. The “gunman” was actually a fellow hospital worker. The phones had been cut on purpose. There was no actual threat of being shot or taken hostage. Woo hoo, right?
Perry was not exactly relieved by this news. She’s now having mental health issues of her own, and has filed a suit against the clinic for compensatory and punitive damages. But even if she wins, she might have a hard time spending her money.
According to her complaint [PDF], Perry now suffers from PTSD because of the incident. She has anxiety, panic, nightmares and insomnia, and had to start seeing a therapist and taking medication for depression. And she can’t shop.
According to her complaint, her emotional distress includes:
Being afraid of visiting stores by herself because the thought of a security guard with a gun being at a store makes her anxious.
She’s also afraid to leave her house after dark. Strangely, she still works at the clinic’s pharmacy though she has to “stay at home on the anniversary of the drill to avoid further emotional distress.” At least she has a great reason to skip work on Christmas Eve.
‘Safety Drill’ Was Terrifying, Woman Says [Courthouse News Service]
(29) Comments
Comments
1st to say CLS sucks.
PE deposited excessive amounts of ectoplasm in one of the booths at Rick's last weekend.
Is this from the Michael Scott School of Management?
Was Dwight Shrute involved?
3 - Great minds
-4
ATL.
These are the best types of posts you do. . . funny lawsuits and ridiculous stories (i.e. potty story from last week).
No one cares when a school gets a new dean.
Just some reader feedback.
Is that a chick holding the gun in the stock photo? If so, I would totally do her.
What 6 said. This is exactly the story that should be here instead of shuffled off to Below the Law or Below Above the Law.
Shortly after the drill, Michael fake-fired Babette.
Should you really let someone who is mentally disturbed be around all of those powerful drugs?
Would she qualify for free treatment where she works?
That's a great ski mask the gunman is wearing. It covers up almost all of one eye and a part of the other. Is that a MysTTTal design?
Dear Kash:
Can you please go over to Elie's desk and wave a slice of turducken under his nose to wake him up, and then have him cover this story (which, shockingly, is of actual importance to many of us in the legal field): http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/08/cuomo-takes-aim-at-bank-of-americas-lawyers/
Thank you.
7 - your comment may be the best window-into-the-soul-of-a-complete-loser-who-is-sexually-confused-and-clearly-not-getting-any post I have read on here. If your goal was to make people feel better about their lives, you have succeeded. If that was not your goal then...wow.
3 = 4 = 5
So next time we have a fire drill I will file a suit for PTSD for having to chug my fat ass down the stairwell for no good reason.
16 - Oh please. Like you didn't see that glory hole in the mask and think the same thing.
@7, i think the hairy knuckles on the man-hand holding the gun are a pretty good clue...
12 for the win
Paging Future Elie:
Please tell me if Sanchez is going to be good over the next few years. Will the Jets win the Super Bowl?
Anybody doing anything special for 9/9?
Eating 9 cupcakes? Nine large pizzas? Nine hardees value meals?
Im looking at you Elie.
This safety drill idea is so bad it makes you wonder if a member of the Obama administration came up with it.
Eggshell plaintiff, etc.
One time we had a firm wide drill where I had all of the new associates pretend to be fired. They cleaned out their desks and immediately exited the building. When the drill was finished, the young attorneys and I gathered together on the sidewalk outside of our office building. As they all stood their each holding their belongings in a brown cardboard box, I said "Now, instead of pretend fired, imagine that you are for for-real fired and go home." I saved quite a pretty penny on security that day, not having to escort each one of the associates from our offices!
Isn't this now considered torture?
7- If you are a chick wanting to do the 'chick' in the photo I want to do you.
You can have insomnia or you can have nightmares, but you can't have both.
27 FTW...
It is like those emotional distress plaintiffs who can't "eat or drink" but somehow manage to pack on 50 pounds while suffering from purported trauma...
Sounds to me like she is the glass half empty type. A coworker of mine shot my wife in the head and it wasn't even a drill.