
The nurse who protected the rights of an unconscious truck driver after an investigating police officer demanded an illegal blood draw has agreed to a $500,000 settlement.
The settlement was reached on Tuesday, October 31st in Salt Lake City, Utah, and takes “the possibility of legal action off the table… There will be no lawsuit,” said the nurse’s attorney.
Back in July, truck driver William Gray was struck by a pickup that lost control while trying to evade police and was seriously hurt in the fiery crash that followed. He was then transported to the University of Utah hospital, where he remained unconscious in serious condition with burns over 46% of his body. The pickup driver was killed in the accident.
As Gray lay unconscious in the hospital, Salt Lake City Police Officer Detective Jeff Payne demanded that Gray’s nurse, Alex Wubbels, take a blood sample from Gray as part of the investigation. Wubbels refused, stating that hospital policy requires that officers must have a warrant for a blood draw without the consent of the patient.
Payne then accused Wubbels of “interfering with a criminal investigation,” and placed her under arrest, aggressively escorting her out of the building. Wubbels was in custody for approximately 20 minutes before she was released again.
According to The Salt Lake Tribune, in the case that followed, Detective Payne’s attorney, Greg Skordas, explained that federal regulation requires blood samples to be taken when a driver with a CDL is involved in a fatal accident. Because of this, when a driver acquires his CDL, he is assumed to have consented to a blood draw, putting Payne in the right.
However, Karra Porter, Nurse Wubbels’ attorney, pointed out that the CDL regulation involving consent for a blood draw applies only to what an employer must do after an employee is in an accident, and does not explain how an officer of the law might become involved.
Utah state law also requires that there must be reasonable suspicion that a person was intoxicated before a sample be taken. Gray was never under criminal investigation and was not believed to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time the pickup struck his rig.
Nurse Alex Wubels has since agreed to a $500,000 settlement and plans to use some of the money to help people in situations similar to hers, who rely on body cam footage to validate their claims.
“We all deserve to know the truth and the truth comes when you see the actual raw footage and that’s what happened in my case,” Wubbels explained.
“No matter how truthful I was in telling my story, it was nothing compared to what people saw and the visceral reaction people experienced when watching the footage of the experience that I went through,” Wubbels continued, also pointing out that body cameras could not only protect citizens, but the police officers that wear them as well.
Wubbels’ attorney’s law firm, Christensen & Jensen, are now offering free legal services necessary to those needing to obtain body cam footage.
Wubbels also plans to donate to the Utah Nurses Association and will be a major advocate for the American Nurse Association’s recent #EndNurseAbuse campaign.
Detective Payne was fired on October 10th, and his supervisor demoted to the rank of officer. Both men have appealed the decision to the Salt Lake City Civil Service Commission. It is not clear when the decisions will be reviewed.