CHARLESTON – A Kanawha County man says he suffered permanent tissue damage from the alleged improper treatment of a snakebite.
Randell Proctor filed a lawsuit April 19 in Kanawha Circuit Court against New Century Emergency Physicians of West Virginia Inc., Dr. Michael Sitler and certified physician’s assistant Bryan Dent, alleging medical malpractice.
According to the complaint, on April 24, 2014, a copperhead bit Proctor on his finger while he was digging yellow root. An ambulance transferred him to the Charleston Area Medical Center’s emergency room, where the suit claims Sitler and Dent initially said no venom had been injected. However, over the next few days Proctor says he developed swelling and tissue damage to his hand and arm, requiring surgical treatment in the intensive care unit. The suit claims Proctor was misdiagnosed by Sitler and Dent, who should have given him antivenin right away.
The plaintiff seeks a jury trial, compensatory and general damages, and litigation expenses. He is represented by Charleston attorneys J. Michael Ranson and Cynthia M. Ranson of the Ranson Law Offices PLLC and by G. Patrick Jacobs of the Jacobs Law Offices PLLC in Charleston.
Judge Carrie L. Webster is assigned to the case.
Putnam Circuit Court Case number 16-C-597