The family of a man who passed away after a nurse gave him a deadly amount of insulin last year has taken legal action against the nursing home where he resided for causing his death due to a nurse who was responsible for administering the insulin and is currently facing charges.
Nicholas “Nick” Cymbol was a resident of Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he passed away in May 2023, according to the lawsuit.
Cymbol seems to be one of 19 individuals, spanning five healthcare facilities, who Heather Pressdee, a unit manager, is alleged to have given insulin to, not following the proper procedures, as reported by CrimeOnline. Seventeen of the patients passed away, and some did not have diabetes and did not need insulin.
In the legal documents against Pressdee, a patient referred to as “N.C.” matches the details about Cymbol outlined in the lawsuit, filed by his sister acting as the administrator of his estate.
The lawsuit states that “Pressdee targeted Nick Cymbol, a 43-year-old diabetic with an anorexic brain injury residing at Sunnyview, after the passing of another patient on April 17.
Cymbol Complaint by kc wildmoon on Scribd
According to the lawsuit, Cymbol’s condition required constant monitoring of his glucose levels and regular administration of insulin when necessary.
“Despite being well-liked by the staff at Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Pressdee regularly insulted, belittled, bullied, and mistreated Mr. Cymbol, just as she had done to other residents,” the lawsuit states. “Staff at Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center knew that Pressdee had negative feelings toward Mr. Cymbol and believed that individuals with a quality of life like Mr. Cymbol did not deserve to live.”
The lawsuit alleges that Pressdee frequently bullied Cymbol, called him names, and even though other staff members raised concerns, the nursing home did not take any action, even after Pressdee supposedly told colleagues that Cymbol “was going to be the next one to die” just days before his passing.
The lawsuit details the events from the day prior to Cymbol’s death until his passing away:
“During morning rounds, Mr. Cymbol’s LPN recorded his blood sugar as 167 mg/dL at approximately 6:30 a.m. Notably, Mr. Cymbol’s blood sugar was to be checked six times daily, per his physician’s order. However, just 30 minutes later, at 7:00 am, Pressdee documented that Mr. Cymbol’s blood sugar had allegedly risen to 380 mg/dL.
“At this time, Pressdee injected Mr. Cymbol with 60 units of insulin. Shortly after Pressdee injected him with 60 units of insulin, Mr. Cymbol’s blood sugar plummeted. According to Pressdee, Mr. Cymbol “crashed faster than expected”, and she tried to reverse his drop in blood sugar by administering multiple doses of Glucagon.
“Initially, Pressdee refused to call 911 on Mr. Cymbol’s behalf — it was not until staff members confronted her that 911 was called. Mr. Cymbol was transferred by ambulance to Butler Memorial Hospital that morning. Mr. Cymbol remained at Butler Memorial Hospital for much of the day, and he was eventually discharged back to Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center later that evening.
“Despite the fact that he was hospitalized earlier in the day for hypoglycemia, the Sunnyview nursing staff failed to monitor Mr. Cymbol’s blood sugar or monitor his condition once he had returned from the hospital. During the evening of April 30, 2023 and into the early morning of May 1, 2023, Mr. Cymbol’s condition gradually declined.
“The Sunnyview staff failed to notify Mr. Cymbol’s physician of the gradual decline in his condition overnight. In fact, the last time that Mr. Cymbol’s blood sugar was documented was shortly after he arrived back at Sunnyview from Butler Memorial Hospital during the evening of April 30, 2023.
“Contemporaneously with the overall decline in his condition, Mr. Cymbol’s blood sugar plummeted overnight. Because Sunnyview nursing staff failed to monitor Mr. Cymbol’s blood sugar overnight, they failed to take any corrective measures to stabilize his blood sugar.
“Shortly after 4:00 a.m. on the morning of May 1, 2023, a nurse at Sunnyview, Lori Barbier, RN, found Mr. Cymbol in a hypoglycemic crisis and foaming at the mouth. At this point, Nurse Barbieri went to check Mr. Cymbol’s Dexcom device, which
had not been tracking his blood sugar due to a “sensor error.”“Nurse Barbieri checked Mr. Cymbol’s blood sugar via finger stick and discovered that his blood sugar was 23 mg/dL, indicative of critical hypoglycemia. It is unknown how long Mr. Cymbol was in this state, as the Suanyview nursing staff failed to monitor his blood sugar or check on him throughout the night.
“After finding Mr. Cymbol in this condition, Nurse Barbieri called Mr. Cymbol’s sister, Melinda Brown, advising her that she should come to the facility as her brother’s condition was rapidly deteriorating. Ms. Brown immediately left for the facility after getting off the phone. However, at approximately 4:30 a.m. on May 1, 2023, as she was walking out her front door to head to Sunnyview, Ms. Brown received a phone call from a nurse at the facility advising her that her brother had passed away.”
Pressdee faced criminal charges in May, and her nursing license was suspended in July last year, according to WPVI. She is scheduled for a hearing in court on May 2.
The lawsuit accuses Sunnyview of being negligent in hiring Pressdee — and retaining her as an employee — along with other complaints. It alleges corporate negligence, vicarious liability, and wrongful death, and requests compensatory and punitive damages “in an amount beyond the jurisdictional arbitration limits.”
According to Law&Crime, neither the company nor its lawyers responded to a request for comment.
[Featured image: Heather Pressdee/police handout]