A 76-year-old terminally ill patient was arrested and charged Monday after stabbing a nurse in the neck and nearly losing a carotid artery.
David Nichols is charged with attempted murder, assault and assault with a dangerous weapon after he allegedly assaulted a nurse at a Massachusetts hospital with a pocket knife, CBS News Boston report. Nichols, who has lung cancer, was in the emergency room at Heywood Hospital when he reportedly stabbed a nurse who was adjusting an oxygen tube, prosecutors said on Tuesday. according to NBC10 News.
“The defendant grabbed her by the neck with his left arm,” assistant district attorney Marc Dupuy said in court, according to CBS News. “She felt a laceration on her neck. She immediately screamed for her help.”
New details: NH man stabbed Massachusetts hospital nurse in neck while trying to adjust oxygen tube, prosecutors say https://t.co/vcC1CwrhXN pic.twitter.com/8S3tQtTiLa
— Boston 25 News (@boston25) June 13, 2023
The unnamed nurse suffered a 3-inch deep wound very close to her carotid artery, police said, according to the report.
RN Karen Coughlin, of the Massachusetts Nursing Association, said of the assault allegations that “health care workers don’t have to worry about coming home when they walk in the front door after work,” according to CBS News. Coughlin has urged lawmakers to better protect health care workers and ensure paid leave for recovery after assaults.
According to the newspaper, “The majority of nurses work at the bedside, and they have witnessed or been the victim of multiple assaults in their careers, which has resulted in significant suffering.” There is,” Coughlin said. (Related: Inmates attack guards and nurses in prison)
Nichols, 76, has been given six months to live, NBC 10 reported, according to a representative for Nichols. Lawyers pleaded not guilty on his behalf on Tuesday. A judge set bail for Nichols at $100,000 and ordered him to be placed under house arrest until his next trial on July 14, according to the Times. CBS News reports that Nichols has a six-page criminal record, including a previous assault record.
The victim was taken to another hospital for treatment of his injuries, the newspaper said.
Heywood Healthcare CEO Rosanna Penney praised the response of hospital staff after the allegations of assault. “Our primary responsibility as leaders is to take care of our staff, and we don’t take this responsibility lightly,” Penney said, according to CBS News.
