Another wrongful death lawsuit filed after local nurse allegedly killed patients with insulin

A civil wrongful death lawsuit was filed against the Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Butler. It was filed on behalf of Nicholas Cymbol’s family.

Attorney Robert Pierce said Cymbol was a patient at Sunnyview and died at the age of 43 on May 1, 2023, after Heather Pressdee, a unit manager at the facility, injected him with a lethal dose of insulin.

“When she was hired by Sunnyview, she only worked five months and within that five months, there were six residents that passed away directly due to her conduct. Mr. Cymbol was the last victim,” said Pierce.

On May 25, 2023, Channel 11 told you the Attorney General’s office pressed criminal charges against Pressdee. They said she mistreated 22 patients in total and 17 patients died under her care.

The new lawsuit alleges Sunnyview administration failed to investigate Pressdee following the string of suspicious deaths in its facility.

Pierce said days before Cymbol’s death, Pressdee said Cymbol was going to be “the next one to die.”

“At Sunnyview, there were complaints from staff that the residents Heather Pressdee cared for were passing away at an alarming rate,” said Pierce. “In addition, there were comments made by Heather Pressdee about patients, some of which she said, ‘They deserve to die.’”

Pierce said before Pressdee was hired at Sunnyview, she was terminated or forced to resign from ten different facilities across Western Pennsylvania between October 2018 and December 2022, so Pierce says the warning signs were there.

Channel 11 told you before that Pierce’s firm also sued Belair Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Lower Burrell where Pressdee was the assistant director of nursing in 2021.

For Cymbol’s family, Pierce said they want Sunnyview to be held accountable, so patients are protected.

“You must do proper background checks. You must monitor complaints from staff and must prioritize the patients in your facility,” said Pierce.

Channel 11 reached out to Sunnyview nursing but is still waiting to hear back.  Right now, Pressdee remains in the Butler County Prison. She faces two counts of first-degree murder, 17 counts of attempted murder and 19 counts of neglect of a care-dependent person.

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