Tennessee patient Linda Gilbert claims hospital injected wrong drug during knee surgery, leaving her unable to walk
A Nashville woman is seeking $150 million from Ascension Saint Thomas Midtown, alleging that a medication error during knee replacement surgery left her with a permanent spinal cord injury.Linda Gilbert, who was 78 at the time of the incident, alleges that hospital staff injected the wrong drug into her spinal canal during the procedure.A total of four surgery patients received potassium phosphate instead of the intended anesthetic, mepivacaine, on Aug.14, according to an Aug.
21 statement published on the hospital system’s website.The Nov.6 complaint, which was provided to Fox News Digital by Gilbert’s attorney, alleges the injection severely injured her spinal cord and nerves, leaving her with incomplete paraplegia, severe weakness in both legs and the inability to walk, drive or live independently.Gilbert also developed shock and respiratory failure requiring a ventilator, according to the filing.
The lawsuit alleges that the patient’s injuries are permanent and says she remained in inpatient rehabilitation at a spinal cord injury center in Atlanta at the time it was filed.Gilbert’s lawsuit claims that staff continued using syringes from the same batch after two earlier patients reported burning pain.It also alleges medication preparation and verification failures, along with delays in treatment.The patient is seeking $50 million in compensatory damages and $100 million in punitive damages.Potassium phosphate is used to treat low phosphorus levels and to supply phosphorus in intravenous nutrition.
Its prescribing information specifies that it must be diluted and administered through a vein.The label warns that excessive doses or overly rapid intravenous administration can cause dangerous heart rhythms, cardiac arrest, seizures and death, according to prescribing information available on NIH’s DailyMed.Those warnings concern intravenous use, rather than injection into the spinal canal as alleged in Gilbert’s lawsuit.In a statement published by local...