Cy-Fair rehab center accused of retaliating against whistle blower

A Cy-Fair rehabilitation facility is being sued over claims it fired a nurse after she blew the whistle on patient abuse.

Connie Bigley filed a lawsuit on Wednesday, Feb. 15 in the Harris County District Court against Legend Oaks North Houston in Cy-Fair, citing violations of the Texas Health and Safety Code.

Bigley says on Dec. 30, 2011, Legend Oaks North fired her from her position as a charge nurse after she brought up allegations of patient abuse at the facility during a meeting with her manager. Bigley mentioned during the meeting that she understood another nurse had allegedly abused a patient, but management did not report the allegations to the police or to the patient’s daughter, according to the brief.

The suit alleges just before firing Bigley, Oaks suspended her “pending an investigation” and informed her that management would have to contact the State of Texas about these abuse allegations.

Bigley is seeking compensatory and exemplary damages, as well as attorney’s fees and court costs. She is being represented in the case by Austin attorney Kell A. Simon.

Harris County District Court Case No. 2012-09612.
This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed at the Harris County Courthouse. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.