Prostitute to sue US embassy workers, marine

SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP):

A Brazilian prostitute plans to sue the United States Embassy, three Marines, an American staff member and one of the Embassy's Brazilian drivers for injuries caused when she allegedly was pushed out of a van in Brasilia, her attorney said yesterday.

Attorney Cezar Britto said by telephone that Romilda Aparecida Ferreira will sue for injuries, medical expenses and lost income.

Britto said that any possible financial settlement would be determined by a judge.

The attorney described Ferreira as a "sex professional and dancer" who met the four Americans at the Apples nightclub on December 29, 2011. She and three other women left with the men in three vehicles, including two belonging to the embassy.

Britto said that after an argument with the driver, one of the Marines pushed Ferreira out of the vehicle. She broke her collarbone, two ribs and punctured a lung when the car ran over her in the nightclub's parking lot, the attorney said.

State Department's spokesperson Victoria Nuland said on Wednesday that the woman was not pushed out of the vehicle, but rather "attempted to open a car door and get into a closed and moving vehicle. She was not able to do so. She fell and she injured herself."

Nuland and Britto said that Brazilian authorities have not filed any charges against the four Americans.