Independence Health System Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg, Pa., is facing a negligence lawsuit filed more than a year after photos and videos of patients were shared without their consent, TribLive reported Dec. 1.
The lawsuit, filed Nov. 21 in Westmoreland County court, centers on Madeline Buchek, one of about 10 patients allegedly recorded during their hospital stays in 2024. Former nurses Peter Castellano and Melissa Tompkins are also named as defendants.
According to TribLive, the three-count complaint claims the nurses inflicted emotional distress on Ms. Buchek — who died in July 2024 — and accuses the hospital of failing to train staff and safeguard patients.
A spokesperson for Independence Health System declined to comment when Becker’s reached out.
Mr. Castellano and Ms. Tompkins, who also uses the last name Marsh, were fired last year after the incidents came to light. Investigators said the pair shared images and recordings of patients without permission, including photos of unclothed or partially clothed individuals.
“The defendants’ … conduct was (a) gross and substantial deviation from the standard of care (and) that their treatment of plaintiff was reckless and done with a conscious disregard to the probability of substantial harm to plaintiffs such that punitive damages are warranted,” the lawsuit states, per TribLive.
Both defendants pleaded guilty in August to misdemeanor counts of abuse of a care-dependent person. Felony charges related to intercepted communications were dropped as part of a plea deal intended to ensure jail time, according to the report. Mr. Castellano and Ms. Tompkins were each sentenced to 30 days to one year in jail and have since been paroled.
