Deceased Nurse’s Family Sued DMC Hospital for $200 Million

• Patrice Wilson, a nurse at the Detroit Medical Center (DMC) was abducted from the hospital parking lot and murdered by her ex-boyfriend.

• The family of the murdered nurse sued DMC for $200 million, citing negligence and endangerment to all nurses at the facility.

• The case against the Detroit Medical Center (DMC) also cites racial motivation, continuing a pattern of alleged discrimination at this facility.

The Detroit Medical Center is facing a $200 million negligence lawsuit from the family of Patrice Wilson, a nurse who was murdered in the hospital’s parking lot. The family sued DMC, alleging that despite knowing an active shooter was the property, the hospital enacted no safety protocols that may have protected Wilson and the other nurses at the facility.

The Murder of Patrice Wilson, RN

On May 13th of this year, Patrice Wilson was walking to her car after a shift at Detroit Medical Center’s Receiving Hospital. As she was getting into her SUV, a man wearing a wig, hat, and glasses (who’d later be identified as her ex-boyfriend, Jamere Mykel Miller) forced his way inside the vehicle and shot Patrice Wilson several times with his handgun, killing her.

Miller then drove away with the body of Practice Wilson. Police later discovered her body in the trunk of her SUV, which had been parked outside of her apartment complex.

After nearly two weeks of investigation, Miller surrendered himself to the police. Miller was charged with one count of first-degree murder, one count of felony murder, one count of carjacking, one count of armed robbery, one count of felon in possession of a firearm, and five counts of felony firearm in connection to the kidnapping and killing.

The Wilson Family’s Case

Tuesday, August 1st, on what should have been Patrice Wilson’s 30th birthday, her family sued DMC for $200 Million, citing negligence. Michael Fortner, the Wilson’s attorney stated, “It’s a murder that could have been prevented if DMC did what they should have been doing to protect Patrice and the other nurses down there.” The family believes that this inaction from DMC has a racial motivation.

When the Wilson family sued DMC, they claimed that Miller had been lurking in the hospital’s parking lot for hours waiting for Patrice and the hospital’s security did nothing to intervene.

According to an eyewitness statement from a fellow DMC nurse, who warned other co-workers of the attacker on the premise when security did not respond, “by the time security came, he had pulled off. They did not place the hospital on lockdown.”

Patrice Wilson’s grandmother admonished the security at DMC, stating that “the system failed her[Patrice Wilson]. If they would have been on duty, they would have come out to question why he was standing around. They heard the shot, why didn’t nobody come out.”

One of the most disturbing allegations against the hospital is that despite knowing the attacker was on the property, hearing the gunshots, and the eye-witness report made to security the hospital still waited at least two hours before notifying anyone regarding Patrice Wilson’s abduction, including police and Wilson’s own family.

Detroit Medical Center’s Response

This is not the first time the DMC has faced allegations of racial discrimination. In 2016, the former Executive Secretary for the Director of Security Operations at the DMC alleged that the hospital used code to identify black versus white employees and applicants.

In 1998 there was a collation of Black DMC employees seeking greater health care equality. At this time the DMC promised to double the number of Black members on their board of directors by the year 2000, as well as eventually increase the percentage of Black employees in upper/middle management to 50%. There are currently no Black members of their executive management team and an estimated 10% of their upper management is Black.

The DMC released a statement on the same day as the Wilson family’s announcement. It reads as follows:

We are saddened by the loss of Patrice Wilson, a member of our DMC community, due to an alleged murder by her ex-boyfriend. Our thoughts are with Patrice’s loved ones.

The DMC stands behind our security team, who acted swiftly to notify and engage local law enforcement to apprehend the assailant. We continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement as they prosecute this individual for the crime committed. We cannot comment on pending litigation.”

We remain committed to providing a safe workplace environment for our staff with appropriate security measures in place. The DMC is also providing resources to help staff process the loss that occurred. We hope the criminal justice system takes the appropriate actions and sends a message to our community that domestic violence will not be tolerated.

The Bottom Line

When the Wilson family sued DMC, they hoped to prevent tragedies like this in the future. Roslind Livingston, Patrice Wilson’s mother, and employee at DMC, states “I want them to make our employees feel safe. It’s too stressful for me to go to a place where my child got killed. It’s too stressful for me to go to a place where I groomed my child to work.” Her sentiment is understandable, how are nurses meant to work in environments where they are not assured of their safety?

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