Nurse Teoka Williams is suing Beaumont Hospital in Dearborn, Michigan
Dearborn, MI — Teoka Williams, an African American nurse has filed a lawsuit against her employer, Beaumont Hospital, claiming that she was discriminated against when the hospital decided to honor a white patient’s request to remove her from their care just because she is Black. She believes her civil rights were violated by the incident.Williams, who worked as a nurse at Beaumont Hospital in Dearborn for 10 years, was very humiliated, embarrassed, and disappointed after an incident in October 2017 where the hospital accommodated a patient’s request to forbid her from taking care of the patient.
According to the lawsuit, Williams has finished checking up on the two patients on her assigned room when she overheard one of the patients saying she didn’t want a “black b—-” taking care of her.
Williams told the clinical manager about what she heard and expected that the decision would be that they won’t accommodate requests based on race. However, Williams was eventually forbidden to enter the room while still being required to give reports when her shift was over.
There were also times during her shifts that patients in that room needed care but she couldn’t provide nor enter just because of her race.
Williams added that she also informed human resources but she was just told that patient requests are honored all the time and the next time it happens, she would simply be taken off the assignment altogether.
Beaumont Hospital hasn’t particularly commented on the lawsuit yet but issued a statement saying that its “highest priority is providing a safe environment that is free from discrimination for both our patients and staff, and delivering care with compassion, dignity and respect.”
In the lawsuit filed last Monday, Williams claims her federal and state civil rights were violated. Her attorney Julie Gafkay said the lawsuit “is about being denied the opportunity to do your job duties based on your race, and being segregated from your job duties based on your race.” Williams is seeking compensatory and punitive damages.