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Lawsuit alleges nurse caused woman's death

Hospital Safety Connection, February 18, 2004

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A man who believes a nurse intentionally caused his mother's death filed a lawsuit on February 17 against a New Jersey hospital, five other medical facilities, and the nurse, who claims to have killed dozens of patients, the Associated Press reports.

Gene Shipman alleges his 81-year-old mother's death, which was listed on her death certificate as being caused by an irregular heart rhythm, was actually caused by nurse Charles Cullen.

Authorities in December charged Cullen with murdering one patient at Somerset Medical Center in Somerville, NJ, and prosecutors said Cullen claims to have killed up to 15 Somerset patients while working there from September 2002 to October 31, 2003.

After his arrest, Cullen told investigators he had killed up to 40 patients at 10 medical facilities in New Jersey and Pennsylvania during his 16-year career.

Shipman's attorney said the five other medical facilities named in the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, negligently failed to notify Somerset about their suspicions about Cullen and problems with his work. Several families in Pennsylvania have filed lawsuits naming Cullen.

Shipman said he was visiting his mother, Frances Shipman, at Somerset when a male nurse arrived and said he had to adjust her intravenous unit. The woman suffered respiratory distress an hour later and died within hours. Shipman said he recognized Cullen as the nurse from later news accounts.

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