Slain nurse's husband sues health care company, alleging it ignored employees' safety concerns

The husband of a Connecticut visiting nurse who was killed during an appointment with a convicted rapist filed a wrongful death lawsuit Monday, alleging her employer repeatedly ignored workers' safety concerns about treating dangerous patients.

Ronald Grayson sued Elara Caring, its affiliated companies and others over the killing of his wife, Joyce Grayson, a 63-year-old mother of six who was found dead in the basement of a halfway house in Willimantic on Oct. 28. She was strangled and suffered multiple blunt force injuries, authorities said. Elara Caring, based in Dallas, Texas, denies the allegations.

“For years prior to October 28, 2023, employees of Elara Caring affiliates experienced multiple, repeated instances in which they were verbally, physically and sexually harassed, assaulted, attacked, yelled at, chased, threatened, punched, kicked, grabbed and brushed up against by mentally unstable and/or violent patients of Elara Caring,” according to the lawsuit, which seeks undisclosed damages.

Instead of addressing nurses' concerns, the lawsuit alleges, the company encouraged employees to focus on increasing profitability while nurses were “chastised, shamed and gaslit, led to believe that they were overreacting.” Staff were “required to treat patients who were dangerous, mentally unstable and, frequently, unsuitable for home health care services,” the lawsuit says.

The suit, filed in Middletown Superior Court, also accuses the company of failing to implement a policy allowing escorts or other staff to accompany nurses when they visit potentially dangerous clients.

“Joyce Grayson’s death was entirely preventable and those who failed to protect her from a violent offender should be held accountable,” said Kelly Reardon, a lawyer for Grayson's family.

Elara Caring called the allegations "unwarranted” in a statement released Monday. The company says it provides home care for more than 60,000 patients in 17 states.

Joyce Grayson had an appointment to administer medication to Michael Reese that morning. Reese, who was on probation after serving 14 years in prison for stabbing and sexually assaulting a woman in 2006 in New Haven, is charged with murder and other crimes in the nurse's death. His lawyers have not returned messages seeking comment.

Elara repeated previous comments it made saying Connecticut officials determined Reese was not a danger to the community and were responsible for monitoring and managing his activities.

“Elara Caring provided services only after Connecticut’s Department of Correction, Board of Pardons and Parole, and the Judicial branch determined it was safe to put Reese back into the community,” the statement said. “Joyce Grayson was a trusted friend, colleague, and mentor. We remain devastated and angered by her loss."

The killing spurred a call for greater protections for home health care workers in Connecticut and across the country. Connecticut lawmakers are now considering a bill that would improve safety for health care workers.

Grayson's family is also asking for permission to sue the state Judicial Branch, which oversees probation, and the Department of Correction for $25 million in connection with their oversight of Reese. The Judicial Branch declined to comment and the Correction Department did not return messages. People who want to sue the state need approval of the claims commissioner's office and the legislature.

The lawsuit also names The Connection, which runs a community treatment program at the halfway house where Grayson was killed. The provider declined to comment on the lawsuit's allegations.

“The death of Joyce Grayson was a senseless crime, and The Connection continues to mourn her immeasurable loss,” it said in a statement. “We will let the legal process address the root causes of this tragedy.”

Last week, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration proposed fining Elara Caring about $161,000 after finding the company failed to protect Grayson.

FILE - This undated photo provided by Kyle Ellsworth shows Joyce Grayson. The husband of the visiting nurse who was killed during an appointment with a convicted rapist filed a wrongful death lawsuit Monday, May 6, 2024 alleging her employer repeatedly ignored workers' safety concerns about treating some patients with mental illness and violent pasts. (Kyle Ellsworth via AP, File)

FILE - This undated photo shows Michael Reese who is the main suspect in the killing of nurse Joyce Grayson in Willimantic, Conn., on Oct. 28, 2023. The husband of the visiting nurse who was killed during an appointment with a convicted rapist filed a wrongful death lawsuit Monday, May 6, 2024 alleging her employer repeatedly ignored workers' safety concerns about treating some patients with mental illness and violent pasts. (Connecticut Department of Corrections via AP, file)

FILE - Reach House, a halfway house for sex offenders where visiting nurse Joyce Grayson was found dead, sits atop a small hill, Nov. 21, 2023, in Willimantic, Conn. The husband of the visiting nurse who was killed during an appointment with a convicted rapist filed a wrongful death lawsuit Monday, May 6, 2024 alleging her employer repeatedly ignored workers' safety concerns about treating some patients with mental illness and violent pasts. (AP Photo/Pat Eaton Robb, File)

ISLAMABAD (AP) — More heavy rains in Afghanistan have triggered flash floods, raising the death toll to 47 in the country's north following weeks of devastating torrents that had already left hundreds dead and missing, a Taliban spokesman said Sunday.

The new round of heavy rains and floods hit three districts in Faryab province Saturday night, destroying houses and farmlands, said Shamsuddin Mohammadi, the provincial director of information. Earlier reports from Faryab put the death toll at 18 but officials said they were still preliminary figures.

Afghanistan has been witnessing unusually heavy seasonal rains.

In the hard-hit western province of Ghor, 50 people were reported dead from Friday’s floods, according to Abdul Wahid Hamas, spokesman for the provincial governor.

The U.N. food agency said Ghor was the most affected by the floods. Last week, the World Food Program said the exceptionally heavy rains in Afghanistan had killed more than 300 people and destroyed thousands of houses, mostly in the northern province of Baghlan.

Survivors have been left with no home, no land, and no source of livelihood, WFP said, adding that most of Baghlan was inaccessible by trucks.

The latest disaster came on the heels of devastating floods that killed at least 70 people in April. The waters also destroyed about 2,000 homes, three mosques and four schools in western Farah and Herat, and southern Zabul and Kandahar provinces.

An Afghan man collects his belongings from his damaged home after heavy flooding in Ghor province in western Afghanistan, Saturday, May 18, 2024. Flash floods from heavy seasonal rains in Ghor province killed dozens of people and dozens remain missing, a Taliban official said on Saturday, adding the death toll was based on preliminary reports and might rise. (AP Photo/Omid Haqjoo)

Afghan men collect their belongings from their damaged home after heavy flooding in Ghor province in western Afghanistan, Saturday, May 18, 2024. Flash floods from heavy seasonal rains in Ghor province killed dozens of people and dozens remain missing, a Taliban official said on Saturday, adding the death toll was based on preliminary reports and might rise. (AP Photo/Omid Haqjoo)

Afghan men collect their belongings from their damaged homes after heavy flooding in Ghor province in western Afghanistan, Saturday, May 18, 2024. Flash floods from heavy seasonal rains in Ghor province killed dozens of people and dozens remain missing, a Taliban official said on Saturday, adding the death toll was based on preliminary reports and might rise. (AP Photo/Omid Haqjoo)

A damaged house is seen after heavy flooding in Ghor province in western Afghanistan, Saturday, May 18, 2024. Flash floods from heavy seasonal rains in Ghor province killed dozens of people and many remain missing, a Taliban official said on Saturday, adding the death toll was based on preliminary reports and might rise. (AP Photo/Omid Haqjoo)

An Afghan couple sit near their damaged home after heavy flooding in Ghor province in western Afghanistan, Saturday, May 18, 2024. Flash floods from heavy seasonal rains in Ghor province dozens of people and dozens remain missing, a Taliban official said on Saturday, adding the death toll was based on preliminary reports and might rise. (AP Photo/Omid Haqjoo)