Tennessee Injury Lawyer Blog

When Tennessee residents and people all over the United States have to decide to place their loved ones in the care of a nursing home, they expect that their loved ones will be treated with respect and receive proper medical care and attention. Unfortunately, however, many nursing homes are understaffed and improperly trained and this leads to infections and serious injuries for the nursing home patients. If you or someone you care about has suffered from a medical condition or injury while in a nursing home, then you should talk to a Tennessee nursing home neglect lawyer right away. They will hear your case and help make sure you get the compensation you need.

According to this lawsuit, attorneys for a fifty-five year old woman claimed that a home care nurse failed to a report a bacterial infection in the woman’s feeding catheter. The woman was being treated for complications from Crohn’s disease and the delay in treatment for the infection led to a near fatal bloodstream infection in October of 2008 resulting in the woman losing portions of both of her legs.

The jury found the nurse and the St. Luke’s Miners Memorial Home Care liable and awarded $23.1 million for medical expenses, lost earnings, and pain and suffering to the woman. The attorneys for the woman stated that the woman hoped that, “the verdict would result in St Luke's redoubling its efforts to help prevent such infections during home care.”

St Luke’s spokesman, Ken Szydlow conveyed sympathy for the woman but stated that the jury award was, “excessive” and that the nurse "provided appropriate care and practiced within applicable standards of care."

Continue reading "Jury Awarded $23 Million to Amputee" »

In Tennessee and all across the country when people enter any type of medical facility seeking treatment for an illness or problem, they expect to be feeling better by the time they leave. Unfortunately, however, sometimes careless mistakes are made by physicians and other medical staff that can cause additional injury or even lead to the death of a patient. If you or someone you love has received treatment at a medical facility and then suffered serious injury or even death after receiving the treatment, then you should talk to a Tennessee medical malpractice and wrongful death lawyer right away. They will hear your case and help to make sure you get the compensation you deserve for what you have suffered.

In this case, The New Life Lodge Rehabilitation Center faces its second multimillion dollar lawsuit by a woman whose son died last year two days after entering the facility. The rehabilitation center, New Life, and its former lead doctor, Dr. Jonathan W. Butler are being accused of medical malpractice, negligence, and wrongful death in the death of Patrick Bryant who died on his twentieth birthday.

According to the lawsuit, Penny Lynn Bryant claims that her son Patrick was given medications including Phenobarbital, phenergen and suboxone. He was also prescribed the antihistamine vistaril, despite being allergic to other antihistamines. Bryant cause of death was determined as a hypoxic brain injury; however no autopsy was performed at the family’s request. Also according to the lawsuit, Bryant was not on hourly supervision despite the fact that he had been vomiting, was over-sedated and had labored breathing or was asthmatic. Finally, according to the mother, Penny Lynn Bryant’s claims her son was unresponsive for an estimated four hours before he was found by the New Life staff. According to claims by several patients and their family members over medication is a frequent problem for the rehab center. The New Life rehab center claims that Bryant’s medical records would show no malpractice or negligence but that they could not release the records because of patient confidentiality laws.
Patrick Bryant’s mother, Penny Lynn Bryant is seeking a total of $13 million in compensation and damages.

Continue reading "New Life Lodge Rehab Center Faces Lawsuit over Death of Second Patient " »

In Tennessee and all over the country, when people go into the hospital or another medical facility for treatment, they expect to be well taken care of and protected from any further harm. Unfortunately, sometimes incidents happen and can leave patients being harmed by other patients and people who may enter the facility when proper safety measures are not taken or policies for reporting incidents are not properly followed.

According to this lawsuit against HCA, a woman claims that she was sexually assaulted by a male patient who took her out of the shower while she was brushing her teeth, while in the hospital at Skyline Madison Campus, as a psychiatric patient. The lawsuit also states that the hospital failed to report the incident to police or to her family. A 2008 law requires a “certificate of good faith” from a medical expert, typically a doctor, during the first stages of a lawsuit. The HCA was successful in getting the lawsuit dismissed because no certificate was filed.

Now the case is back in court after the Tennessee Court of Appeals determined that the lower court made a mistake when it applied the rules of the Tennessee Medical Malpractice Act, claiming that the issue does not involve treatment given by a medical professional. The Appeals Judge Richard H. Dinkins stated that, “The complaint speaks of supervision that could be provided by a security guard or some other person who does not have a specialized training in medical science or the adoption of other appropriate non-medical safeguards.” The HCA acknowledged in its statements that a male patient was found hiding in the woman’s shower. The hospital has also noted that the facts are in dispute regarding the alleged assault. The woman filed her lawsuit last year seeking $3 million in damages.

Continue reading "Former Skyline’s Patient’s Sexual Assault Lawsuit Gets Second Chance " »

In Tennessee and all across the United States when people and their families go into medical facilities for any kind of treatment, they expect to be well cared for and to be feeling better when they leave. Unfortunately, however, sometimes certain medical facilities do not have the staff they need or the proper training and personal injuries and even death can occur as a result. If you or someone you love has suffered a personal injury or even death after receiving treatment at a medical facility, then you should talk to a Tennessee wrongful death lawyer right away. They will hear your case and make sure you get the compensation you are entitled to.

According to this lawsuit, Lindsey Poteet, 29, from Monterey, Tennessee died on September 1, 2010 after she was transferred to New Life hospital in Nashville. She had checked into the New Life facility on August 4th. Her mother, Kathy Mauk, is suing New Life and its parent company CRC Health, claiming that the crowing and under staffing at the New Life drug treatment center led to the death of her daughter.
Kathy Mauk claims that the New Life employees delayed giving her daughter medication for two days after an antibiotic had been prescribed to her. Also, when a decision was made to send her daughter to the hospital, the New Life employees sent her by van to Nashville which was thirty miles away, instead of to Horizon Medical Center which was only eight miles away from the New Life treatment center. The attorney for Kathy Mauk stated that, "Financial gain was placed ahead of the welfare of New Life Lodge's residents including Lindsey Poteet."

The New Life treatment center will be faced with another lawsuit from another Tennessee family whose son died last year on his twentieth birthday.

Continue reading "Mother Sues Tennessee Drug Treatment Center over Daughter’s Death" »