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-Short Attention Span Theater-
Ebola nurse sues New Jersey Gov. Christie
2015-10-23
NEW YORK -- A nurse who was quarantined against her will inside a plastic tent in New Jersey after treating Ebola patients in West Africa filed a civil rights lawsuit against Governor Chris Christie on Thursday, her lawyer said.

Kaci Hickox is claiming in her lawsuit that Christie, now a Republican presidential candidate, unconstitutionally and unreasonably detained, isolated and quarantined her in October last year without a valid legal or medical reason.

"This case is about liberty and freedom," said Norman Siegel, Hickox's attorney. "It's also about accountability, holding even governors accountable for their violations of citizens' constitutional rights."
Your liberty and freedom may be curtailed when there's a realistic chance that you're harboring a fatal, communicable disease for which there is no cure. That's called "public health", and the state has always had an interest in preserving it.
Hickox, who became known in the media as the "Ebola nurse," is seeking compensatory and punitive damages of at least $250,000, Siegel said.

After sharply criticizing Christie over her forced isolation for nearly 80 hours, Hickox was driven to her boyfriend's home in Fort Kent, Maine, where Governor Paul LePage ordered her quarantined, even though she had tested negative for the virus.
Because, as we've since learned, testing negative doesn't mean that you're truly negative.
She publicly defied the order, drawing national attention to the battle between states seeking to impose strict restrictions on healthcare workers returning after treating Ebola patients and the civil liberties of those individuals.

A handful of states imposed mandatory quarantines on health workers returning from three Ebola-ravaged West African countries, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The federal government has been wary of the efforts, seen as potentially discouraging medical volunteers.
I appreciate every person who volunteers. Those volunteers need to have the same compassion for the folks back home as they do for the people they're helping.
Late last year, Maine settled a lawsuit brought by Hickox over the quarantine.

Christie has defended his decision to impose a mandatory quarantine, saying that counting on a voluntary system may not work and that protecting health and safety is the government's job.
Precisely.
His office was not immediately available for comment on Thursday.

Hickox, who has since married her boyfriend and moved to Oregon, filed the lawsuit partly to draw attention to herself national public health policy issues surrounding Ebola that she says make no sense, her lawyer said.

"She became a public voice for public health issues" when she was quarantined, Siegel said. "She continues to be that voice."
She is not a voice for public health, she's just another social justice wanker.
Posted by:Steve White

#10  The state will provide defense of a govt official in his official duties.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2015-10-23 23:11  

#9  This article says Ebola Kaci is suing Christie and other state officials as individuals in order to get around any immunity issues. Voice for public health, me arse. Sounds like Ebola Kaci is just a grandstanding idiot looking for a payday.

Posted by: SteveS   2015-10-23 21:44  

#8  She should have been shot the moment she broke quarantine.

And unless she gets an idiot judge, she'll find that case law on quarantine is well-established.
Posted by: Rob Crawford   2015-10-23 21:01  

#7  Back when Ebola Kaci was enjoying her 15 minutes of fame and quarantine, trained medical personal were coming down with Ebola - people who knew and were following the anti-infection protocols. My suspicion is Ebola Kaci is either a self-absorbed grandstanding idiot, or she was filling some sort of admin role and not in close contact with patients. Or both.

At the time, people were waving around numbers about fever and incubation periods like they were magic amulets. This is biology, people. Not manufacturing. Hell, even in manufacturing, "identical" parts will vary within certain tolerances. An African doctor who kept careful records found that about 12% of his patients who died showed NO signs of fever at all. A very interesting bit of data.

Recently, we've seen reports of the Ebola virus lingering in the body months after the patient had recovered. Like the guy in Jurassic Park said, "Life will find a way".
Posted by: SteveS   2015-10-23 20:33  

#6  Am curious about her political affiliation, however.

I suspect Chaotic Stupid.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain   2015-10-23 17:27  

#5  apparently they stole her eyebrows, too, the brutes
Posted by: Frank G   2015-10-23 14:28  

#4  Good luck with that, sweetheart.

Am curious about her political affiliation, however.
Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy   2015-10-23 14:16  

#3  If she succeeds in her lawsuit I can see a rush of people claiming they were in Ebola land and then griping about being quarantined when their claims are believed. Precedent & lots of unemployed lawyers...
Posted by: Glenmore   2015-10-23 14:08  

#2  I suspect the real problem is that Ebola hasn't reached 'civil rights' status like HIV.

Yes, we know isolating carriers reduces infections (TB et al from my generation), but somehow HIV got a pass. Hundreds of thousands died because historical protocols weren't followed. So today we get the argument -

"This case is about liberty and freedom," said Norman Siegel, Hickox's attorney. "It's also about accountability, holding even governors accountable for their violations of citizens' constitutional rights."
Posted by: Procopius2k   2015-10-23 13:54  

#1  And what would the MSM be saying about Christie if he'd caved and a few (or a few thousand) people ended up dead?

The nurse suffered a temporary inconvenience. Boo frickin' Hoo.
Posted by: PBMcL   2015-10-23 13:44  

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