Exclusive | CVS worker in swanky NYC nabe beaten by knife-wielding maniac, then fired after filing for workers comp: lawsuit

A CVS worker in swanky SoHo had her jaw shattered by a knife-wielding lunatic as she tried to help a security guard — then got canned when she asked for help paying her medical bills, according to a new lawsuit. Abigail Downey, 25, was working her usual night shift at the drug store in the trendy Manhattan neighborhood last fall when an erratic man began terrorizing shoppers and brutally pummeled her and a security guard she tried to help, court documents said.The potentially deadly nut then whipped out a knife before arriving cops subdued him, she said.Downey eventually filed a worker’s comp claim for her jaw injury, which left her unable to chew food, and within 24 hours, she was fired for “escalating workplace violence,” she told The Post.“Rather than expressing concern for [Downey’s] injuries,” her manager “criticized her for leaving early” from work that night — about 30 minutes before the end of her shift, according to the plaintiff and her suit.Downey told The Post, “I was shocked.“It was like a 2-minute impromptu meeting in the office.”The manager allegedly told Downey she was being given the boot because she had a personal taser in her bag.Downey did not pull out or use the taser during the assault, her suit said.Her lawsuit said the claim was just an excuse to avoid paying for her injuries after she tried to help the poor security guard. “Defendants chose retaliation over accountability,” her lawsuit claimed, blasting the pharmacy chain for allegedly running an under-secured, unsafe store and throwing an injured employee straight to the curb.Downey told The Post, “It’s a wider social problem.“If you dare to try and intervene, dare try to help somebody, it can get turned around on you.”She claimed that the Sixth Avenue store was notorious for chaos and thievery but that CVS only hired security for “protecting merchandise” and not for safety.The lawsuit also blamed the unnamed security company for hiring an allege...