Fredericton — Three multi-million dollar class-action lawsuits have been launched against Horizon Health Network, Vitalité Health Network, and the New Brunswick Nurses’ Union (NBNU), respectively.
The class-actions put forward by McInnes Cooper law firm allege that New Brunswick patients have been lied to for the past 50 years, being promised by nurses that needles won’t hurt, when in reality, they always cause undue pain to the patient.
“We’ve all been promised ‘this won’t hurt a bit’ by nurses only to be painfully stabbed in the arm. They’re about to get a taste of their own medicine with a lawsuit that ‘won’t hurt a bit,'” said Larry Jones, one of the legal representatives of McInnes Cooper.
“If you’re a New Brunswick resident between the age of 12 and 70 and you’ve been told by a nurse that a needle won’t hurt, only for it to sting real bad, then you may qualify for up to $10,000 in damages,” added Jones.
Despite the precarious position nurses are in now, some of them don’t feel any sympathy for the patients claiming to be victims.
“It’s not our fault that people are such pansies these days,” said Irma Cunningham, a 65-year-old nurse at the Doctor Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital in Fredericton. “When I started nursing we had to force-feed patients horse pills, strap them down for electroshock therapy, and even slap the anxiety out of them. Nowadays you have to treat each patient like they’re made of glass.”
Many New Brunswickers are going public with their horror stories of having their arms assaulted by nursing staff.
“The first time I recall a nurse lying to me was when I got my shots in elementary school,” said Chris Jenkins, a 38-year-old Moncton resident and father of three.
“I’ve always been terrified of needles and the pain they cause, but the nurses could at least try to calm me down instead of lying to my face. I won’t let me kids get any needles because I can’t in good conscience put them through the pain that I had to endure.”
In a show of solidarity for the alleged victims, people are planning on wearing bandanas tied around their arms for the rest for the month of May, to show that nurses will not be allowed to bring needles near them.
McInnes Cooper is already representing more than 3,500 people in the lawsuits, and any New Brunswick resident who thinks they may qualify has until June 1 to join in.