WINFIELD – A woman is suing Putnam County Commission after she claims it is responsible for her husband’s death.
Putnam County Commission is doing business as Putnam County Emergency Medical Services.
St. Mary’s Medical Center and Dr. Geoffrey Ramon Cousins were also named as defendants in the suit.
On March 9, Jason Swan was found lying on the floor at work and his coworkers assisted him to the ground and noticed he was not acting right and called 911, according to a complaint filed Sept. 22 in Putnam Circuit Court.
Amber Swan claims PCEMS was dispatched and, upon arrival, noted that Jason Swan was lying on the ground and that he had become light-headed and tired and had been sitting in his chair and the next thing he remembered was waking up on the floor.
Jason Swan reported that he had never had this problem before and that for the last week and one-half he had become short of breath upon physical activity, according to the suit.
Amber Swan claims Jason Swan was transported to St. Mary’s in a non-emergent manner without lights or sirens, which was approximately 43 miles away.
Upon arrival at St. Mary’s Jason Swan presented with syncopal episodes and was transferred to the heart catheterization lab and an intra-aortic balloon pump was placed.
Amber Swan claims the heart cath showed “severe coronary artery disease, distal left main disease,” “no pressure gradient across the aortic valve,” and “severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction.”
Jason Swan was assessed as having multi-vessel coronary artery disease with left main disease, non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction and cardiogenic syncope, according to the suit. He was transferred to open heart recovery in anticipation for coronary heart bypass surgery.
Amber Swan claims Jason Swan was evaluated by Cousins and was scheduled for emergent open heart surgery which was to be performed that day, which it was not performed until approximately 6:30 p.m.
Jason Swan’s condition worsened and he was placed on ECMO and transferred to the University of Kentucky Medical Center to await a heart transplant, according to the suit. He died on March 14.
Amber Swan claims the defendants failed to treat his myocardial infarction as a myocardial infarction by negligently failing to transport him emergently to a hospital for diagnosis and treatment for his symptoms of myocardial infarction and by failing to transport him to the closest available medical facility that could treat the myocardial infarction.
St. Mary’s negligently failed to timely diagnose and treat Jason Swan’s condition and Cousins negligently failed to emergently perform surgery and/or provide other treatment to him for his symptoms, according to the suit.
Amber Swan is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. She is being represented by Stacy A. Jacques and Richard D. Lindsay of Tabor Lindsay & Associates.
Putnam Circuit Court case number: 16-C-225
