Mass shootings have become an all too common occurrence in many states around the nation. The challenges faced by medical staff in the face of multiple trauma injuries can be significant. A mass shooting at a Waffle House restaurant in Tennessee resulted in a wrongful death lawsuit being filed against a hospital in the wake of the death of one of the shooting victims.
The young man, whose death is cited in the suit, was one of four people who died as a result of the shooting at the restaurant. In the wake of the shooting, the victims were rushed to Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Upon arrival, they were treated by the medical center’s trauma team.
According to the autopsy, the young man cited in the suit died as a result of injuries suffered in the shooting. The man’s mother claims that her son was not appropriately treated. According to the suit, doctors erroneously placed a breathing tube in the patient’s esophagus instead of at the entrance to his lungs. The lawsuit further claims that the hospital attempted to cover up the error by hiding or destroying an x-ray that revealed the error.
Losing a loved one in a mass shooting is one of the most painful experiences a parent can face. Parents count on trauma teams to make the correct decisions when faced with traumatic injuries, as a trauma team is trained to do. A person in Tennessee who has lost a loved one in such a horrific manner may wish to seek the counsel of a personal injury attorney to help determine if a wrongful death lawsuit is a viable option.