Nurse Wins $78,000 in Handcuff Suit
Officer said she didn't resist arrest
NBCChicago.com
A hospital security camera shows Lisa Hofstra being led away in handcuffs after refusing to draw blood from a man who wasn't a patient.
A Chicago-based nurse landed a $78,000 payday for standing up for her principles.
In August a Chicago police officer handcuffed Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center nurse Lisa Hofstra when she refused to draw blood from an allegedly drunken driver because he hadn’t been admitted to the hospital – per hospital rules.
She sat in officer Marcelo Rodriguez’s squad car for 45 minutes.
"It is important to remember that nurses work for hospitals and not the Chicago Police Department," Hofstra's attorney Blake Horwitz said.
Hofstra sued both Rodriguez and the City of Chicago and won.
The allegedly drunken driver, Raquel Wright, 47, is due in court March 10 for reckless homicide and aggravated DUI charges stemming from an accident that led to her arrest.
Posted Wednesday, Mar 3, 2010 - 7:30 AM CST
