A class action lawsuit alleges a registered nurse at a Colorado hospital drugged and sexually assaulted possibly thousands of intensive care unit patients and took lewd photos and videos without their consent for at least ten years.
Christopher Lambros, 61, reportedly was hit with the lawsuit filed Tuesday by Denver civil rights law firm Rathod Mohamedbhai LLC, which accused the registered nurse of committing such egregious acts while employed at Saint Mary’s Hospital, SCL Health and Intermountain Healthcare in Grand Junction, Colorado.
“Don’t ever get rid of these videos,” Lambros whispered to the camera in one of the videos from June 24, 2022, according to documents. “You need to keep them forever … this is your Dexter collection.”
Attorneys told CBS News they filed the lawsuit after uncovering four terabytes of data connected to Lambro’s alleged assaults.
“Four terabytes of data amounts to approximately 700,000 cellphone photos or 65,000 hours of cellphone videos,” the law firm said in a press release.
Local media reported that the data contained video and photo evidence that allegedly showed the health care provider had drugged, sexually touched, sexually penetrated, and/or taken lewd photos and/or videos for the sexual gratification of thousands of patients without their consent.
Authorities arrested Lambros earlier this year on three charges of sexual assault after finding the lewd images on his phone.
Officers found probable cause to seize Lambros’ phone and conducted a digital forensic analysis, which found evidence of Lambros posing with several unconscious victims and participating in lewd acts.
According to arrest documents, an employee claims she saw Lambros with his head on the patient’s stomach in a position as if he was taking a selfie picture while the patient’s genitalia was exposed. Once Lambros noticed the employee had seen him, he immediately dropped the phone and re-covered the unconscious patient.
Lambros denied the allegation, claiming he gave the patient a stomach injection for blood clots.
Authorities have identified at least three alleged victims during the investigation and suspect several more.
“I just want the public to be aware of what’s going on there, Saint Mary’s needs to change their policy,” an anonymous victim told local media.
The lawsuit alleges that hospitals are liable when such acts are committed at their facilities for the “numerous corporate failures that permitted Lambros to abuse patients and invade their privacy.”
Court documents allegedly state that the hospital has surveillance cameras in each room, which could point to a number of failures allowed by the facility.
St. Mary’s Medical Center told local media that the medical facility terminated Lambros from employment immediately following his arrest by the Grand Junction Police Department under suspicion of sexual assault while delivering care at the hospital.
“The safety of our patients is our highest priority, and we take this matter very seriously,” Bryan Johnson, president of St. Mary’s Medical Center, said. “We have zero tolerance for anyone who engages in the abuse or mistreatment of our patients.”
“What this former nurse is accused of is reprehensible and goes against everything we believe and value at St. Mary’s Medical Center,” Johnson added. “Patients put their trust in us and should feel safe in our care. We are working closely with law enforcement to protect our patients from those who intend to cause harm. We are doing everything possible to ensure our patients continue to feel safe and respected while receiving care at St. Mary’s Medical Center.”
The hospital said it continues to fully cooperate with the local authorities in the ongoing investigation and has set up a call center to directly connect people with a patient representative so they can get information about their care.
That phone number is 970-298-2273.
According to local media, patients from St. Mary’s Hospital treated by or accessible to Lambros from 2012 to 2022 could be victims and have been asked to please reach out to the GJPD at 970-549-5000.
