Nationwide — DonQuenick Joppy, a 41-year-old African American ICU nurse from Aurora, Colorado, has won a $20 million jury award after being wrongfully blamed for a patient’s death, subjected to racial discrimination, and fired for speaking out.
Joppy began working at The Medical Center of Aurora in 2017. Two years later, she found herself caring for a 93-year-old patient who was in septic shock and required a ventilator. According to Atlanta Black Star, the patient’s family decided to withdraw life support, and Joppy followed instructions from a respiratory therapist over the phone. She remained with the family as the patient died peacefully.
A medical examiner later confirmed the patient died of natural causes. Still, the hospital claimed Joppy acted outside her role by shutting off the ventilator herself. Officials accused her of suffocating the patient and reported her to state regulators. She was fired weeks later, and prosecutors charged her with manslaughter and negligent death before dropping the case in 2021.
In her lawsuit, Joppy said the hospital used the incident as an excuse to end her career because she had complained about racial discrimination. She described years of mistreatment by supervisors and charge nurses, including verbal abuse, false accusations, and unfair workloads compared to her white colleagues. She also claimed she was blocked from promotions and placed on a performance plan as retaliation.
Her case went to trial in August 2024. After a seven-day trial, jurors agreed she had been retaliated against and discriminated against. They awarded her $20 million — $5 million in compensatory damages and $15 million in punitive damages. A judge approved the verdict.
Joppy said the verdict restored her integrity after years of false accusations and hoped her case would lead to change for other Black nurses. The hospital, however, denied wrongdoing and announced plans to appeal, insisting Joppy violated hospital policy.
After years of instability, Joppy said she looks forward to rebuilding her life and providing a stable home for her daughter.