LOGAN – A woman is suing Lifepoint Hospitals after she claims they were negligent and caused her to have her leg amputated.
Lifepoint Hospitals Holdings Inc. is doing business as Logan General Hospital.
Ohio Valley Physicians Inc.; Drs. John R. Morgan Jr., Philip T. Berry and Christopher P. Flanagan; and two physicians assistants, Jessica D. Browning and Charles D. McKinney, were also named as defendants in the suit.
On April 24, 2015, Loretta McCoy sought overnight emergency treatment at Logan General due to complaints of acute foot pain involving the lateral, medial and dorsum of the right foot, according to a complaint filed May 22 in Logan Circuit Court.
McCoy claims three days later, she was evaluated by a physician’s assistant at her primary care physician’s office, complaining of right big toe pain and swelling.
Upon physical exam, the right big toe showed moderate erythema with swelling and a limited range of motion due to the pain. Dr. Amy Sayre’s office diagnosed her with gout and discharged her with medications to treat it and she was told her condition would improve in a couple of days, according to the suit.
McCoy claims her pain worsened and she called Sayre’s office, where she was told to go to the emergency room, which she did so on April 29, 2015.
When McCoy returned to the emergency room, she presented with discolored toes and feel with excruciating pain and swelling, according to the suit. She was instructed to stop taking the medication for gout and to request Lyrica from her primary doctor and was then discharged.
McCoy claims on May 2, 2015, she went to Boone Memorial Hospital in Madison, where she underwent a Doppler study and it was revealed that she had a severe blood clot in her right groin, which lead to prolonged ischemia in her right leg and foot. She was then transferred to Charleston Area Medical Center.
On May 3, 2015, McCoy was placed in a medically induced coma, after which a stent was inserted into her right groin to counteract the blockage from the blood clot, according to the suit. She was also started on heparin therapy to break up the clot in an attempt to re-establish blood flow to her right foot.
McCoy claims she, unfortunately, lost her right foot and lower leg on May 11, 2015. She was discharged on June 3, 2015.
The defendants’ negligence, carelessness, recklessness and deviation from the appropriate standard of care forced McCoy to endure mental anguish; pain and suffering; loss of limb; and direct and indirect economic losses, according to the suit.
McCoy is seeking compensatory damages with pre- and post-judgment interest. She is being represented by Timothy L. Eves and Omar D. Ahmad of Eves Law Firm; and Debra Nelson of Nelson Law Firm.
Logan Circuit Court case number: 17-C-149