Fayette couple accuses Montgomery General for medical malpractice

CHARLESTON -- A Fayette County man and his wife are suing Montgomery General Hospital for failing to treat him when he was having a stroke.

Dr. Dilipkumar Parsotambhai Ghodasara was also named as a defendant in the suit.

On Sept. 27, 2011, Zona Hannah presented to the emergency department at Montgomery General Hospital with a history of hypertension and extreme confusion, where he was seen by Ghodasara, according to a complaint filed April 11 in Kanawha Circuit Court.

Hannah claims after Ghodasara saw him, he was released to go home.

Susan Hannah, Zona Hannah's wife, claims Ghodasara told her that he needed a psychiatric evaluation and to take him home, give him a blood pressure pill and put him to bed.

Later, Zona Hannah got up and fell in the floor, was unable to get up or walk, and did not recognized his family or known were he was, according to the suit.

Susan Hannah claims she and her son rushed Zona Hanna back to the emergency department at Montgomery General Hospital, but the defendants refused to see him because he had already been there.

When Zona and Susan Hannah's son asked the emergency department personnel to please call for an ambulance so they could take him somewhere else, the defendants refused to call for the ambulance or offer any other assistance, according to the suit.

The Hannahs claim they got back in their car, drove around the corner and called 911 for an ambulance, which then took them to Charleston Area Medical Center, where Zona Hannah was diagnosed with having multiple strokes and grand mal seizures.

Zona Hannah subsequently coded, was on a ventilator and was in the Intensive Care Unit for eight days, according to the suit.

The Hannahs claim Zona Hannah has been left with permanent neurological injuries and as a result in the delay in diagnosing his stroke, thrombolytic treatment was not a consideration.

The defendants acted negligently, carelessly, willfully and wantonly and/or with reckless disregard of risk of harm to Zona Hannah, according to the suit.

The Hannahs are seeking compensatory and punitive damages with pre- and post-judgment interest. They are being represented by Richard D. Lindsay.

The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Charles E. King.

Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 12-C-646