Nurses Sue St. Joseph Hospital, Say Understaffing Forced Them to Watch Patients Suffer

Four current and former nurses have filed a class action lawsuit against the owners of St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, Illinois, alleging that years of chronic understaffing endangered patients and caused the nursing staff severe emotional distress. The suit, backed by the Illinois Nurses Association, names hospital owners Prime Healthcare Services and Ascension Healthcare as defendants.

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According to the complaint, the hospital repeatedly failed to meet the minimum safe nurse-to-patient ratios laid out in its own legally mandated staffing plan, forcing nurses to take on assignments they considered dangerous. The nurses say their warnings went unheeded for years.

The allegations have not been proven in court, and both Prime Healthcare and Ascension have signaled they intend to fight the claims.

Who Filed the Lawsuit and What They Allege

The lawsuit was filed in Will County Circuit Court by nurses Cathy Wolff, Mary Sue Bulger, Paula Koranda, and Cindy Poe. The 21-page complaint accuses the hospital’s owners of intentional infliction of emotional distress and willful and wanton conduct, and seeks compensatory and punitive damages on behalf of a proposed class of nurses.

The nurses allege the hospital violated two Illinois laws meant to protect patients and staff: the Nurse Staffing by Patient Acuity Act and the Hospital Report Card Act. According to that reporting, the complaint says the understaffing resulted in delayed patient care and medications, patient infections, and increased medical errors across multiple units over a span of years.

The complaint also describes the personal toll on staff. It alleges that severe understaffing “caused the plaintiff nurses to suffer fatigue and burnout,” and states that plaintiff Wolff “sleeps only four to five hours each night because of her long hours.” The filing further alleges that management “treated Wolff and Ryan as troublemakers and acted in disregard of their concerns.”

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The lawsuit lands amid ongoing tension at the Joliet hospital. Prime Healthcare, a for-profit company based in California, bought St. Joseph from Ascension in March 2025, acquiring it alongside several other former Ascension facilities. Nurses have repeatedly raised concerns about reduced hours, expanded patient loads, and other changes under the new ownership.

Staffing complaints at the hospital predate the sale. Nurses there have told reporters they felt they were “drowning” under unsafe assignments, and the Illinois Nurses Association has clashed with management through strikes and unfair labor practice complaints. According to the complaint, nurses filed numerous “assignments despite objection” forms, the formal documents nurses use to flag unsafe staffing, but say those objections were disregarded.

In response to the lawsuit, Prime Healthcare said most of the allegations involve periods of previous ownership and emphasized that its current staffing aligns with national best practices. Ascension said it could not comment on pending litigation but is committed to defending the allegations “vigorously.”

This case matters far beyond Joliet. Unsafe staffing is one of the most common and most emotionally charged issues nurses face, and this lawsuit tests whether nurses can hold employers legally accountable for it as a class, not just through grievances or one-off complaints. The plaintiffs are leaning on the same tools many nurses already use, like assignments despite objection forms and state staffing laws, to argue those protections have real legal weight.

It is also a reminder of why careful documentation matters. The nurses’ formal objection forms are central evidence in their claim, underscoring the value of recording unsafe conditions in real time. As the complaint puts it, the nurses allege they were forced “to watch helplessly as the needs of their patients are ignored.” Whether or not the suit succeeds, the outcome could influence how nurses, unions, and hospital systems nationwide approach staffing disputes.

🤔 Have you ever filed an assignment despite objection form or formally documented unsafe staffing on your unit? What happened next? Share your experience in the comments.

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