PRINCETON — A man is suing Bluefield Regional Medical Center for the wrongful death of his family member.
Dr. Kerren Elder, Jacob Leighton, Integrated Care Physicians Group, Bluefield Hospital Company, which was doing business as Bluefield Regional Medical Center before it closed last year, were all named as defendants in the suit.
On May 31, 2019, Hazel Carroll went to the emergency department for the repair or replacement of a fractured clamp and/or cap on her right internal jugular vein hemodialysis catheter, according to a complaint filed in Mercer Circuit Court.
Philip Helms claims during the process of fixing the catheter, the defendants failed to externally clamp the hemodialysis catheter in place and Carroll felt sick, became unresponsive.
Carroll was then transported by ambulance to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital but was incapacitated and Helms was appointed as her guardian and conservator.
Carroll then experienced a brain bleed while at a skilled nursing facility and died on March 9, 2020.
Helms is seeking compensatory damages. He is represented by Eric J. Buckner of Katz Kantor Stonestreet and Buckner; and Mark Staun of Hartley Law Group.
Mercer Circuit Court case number: 21-C-101