The late Nichelle Nichols’ estate is pursuing a wrongful death lawsuit against the Gila Regional Medical Center in Silver City, New Mexico following the Star Trek icon’s death back in July of 2022. The attorney representing the family, Lisa Curtis, elaborated on “the complaint for medical negligence resulting in wrongful death,” and she also described the alarming details that Nichols’ son, Kyle, endured when his mother was admitted to the facility over three years ago. Curtis said via the ABC affiliate KOAT Action News in Albuquerque:
“He was horrified when he took his mom to his community hospital (GRMC), and like most sons who take their elderly parents in — they don't know what's wrong with them. They just know something's wrong. Nichelle was taken in by ambulance because she was having sudden heart problems. They didn't do cardiac workup on her, and that was needed. They put her in an observation unit, which is not where she needed to go. She needed really to get transferred to Las Cruces, where they have cardiologists on staff and on call and the right equipment just to diagnose her and take care of her. Instead, they discharged her home, and she died seven hours later.”
Nichols was 89 years old when she died of heart failure on July 30, 2022. The lawsuit is dated July 19, 2023 (Grant County 6th Judicial District Court), and it claims that Gila Regional Medical Center “fostered an environment which prevented Ms. Nichols from being diagnosed and treated properly.” Among the other allegations listed in the wrongful death document, Gila Medical also “abdicated its responsibility to ensure the safety of its patients including Ms. Nichols by hiring, partnering with, and contracting with third parties to run the hospital.”
The lawsuit can be viewed in its entirety here, and it will leave fans wondering what could have been. This excerpt from the wrongful death suit is particularly unsettling:
“Defendant engaged in wanton, reckless, intentional or negligent acts and omissions during the care and treatment of Ms. Nichols in failing to obtain her informed consent and advise her of all treatment options and risks, in failing to timely diagnose and treat her cardio-pulmonary condition. Such failures caused Ms. Nichols to suffer wrongful death.”
Trekkies will always lovingly remember Nichols as the USS Enterprise’s communications officer Lt. Uhura. The actress first appeared — in production order, at least — clad in a yellow Starfleet uniform, during Star Trek: The Original Series’ season 1 episode, “The Corbomite Maneuver,” but she’d sport her trademark red attire soon after. Following the cancellation of TOS, Nichols voiced Uhura in Star Trek: The Animated Series before reprising the beloved role again in the six live-action Star Trek movies featuring the original cast.
Please share your thoughts and concerns regarding the wrongful death lawsuit on Redshirts Always Die’s social media pages, Facebook and X, formerly Twitter. The sci-fi franchise just isn’t the same without the beloved actress, but Nichelle Nichols’ legacy lives on… and far beyond the limits of just Star Trek. In fact, a highly anticipated week-long space camp will take place next year at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, which has been named in honor of the late thespian and NASA ambassador: the Nichelle Nichols Space Camp.