A nurse at a local Tyler hospital is being charged with murder after three incidents that led to the death of one patient and left two others in a ‘persistent vegetative state.’ William George Davis is facing one count of murder following information on his actions back in August 2017. Employed by the CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances health system and assigned to the Louis and Peaches Owen Heart Hospital since 2013, Davis’ license to work as a registered nurse was suspended on March 16, 2018. That same day, the Texas Board of Nursing announced the charges against Davis, which happened when he was working on the Louis and Peaches Owen Heart Hospital in Tyler, Texas.
According to the report, Davis entered the room of a patient whom he was not assigned to on three different occasions, performing “unskilled and/or unnecessary and/or inappropriate” duties on a patient. After every instance of Davis seeing the patient, their condition immediately worsened and resuscitative measures were necessary. The first patient Davis intervened with died and the other two entered a vegetative state. The autopsy on the first patient found they had suffered a cortical acute ischemic infarction from an air embolism, eventually leading to their death. Davis did not discuss his intervention with the nurse assigned to the patients, nor did he document what he did.
Following the most recent incident on January 25th, 2018, Davis told a facility manager that he entered the patient’s room to quiet a beeping IV. He then said that he reset the IV, flushed the arterial line, and pumped up the pressure bag. Once again, Davis did not discuss these changes or actions with the nurse assigned to the patient. He is currently being held at a Smith County jail with a $2 million bond.
Understanding Medical Malpractice and Nursing Home Abuse
This case is a perfect example of medical malpractice and elderly abuse. Davis was not properly trained, or permitted, to perform any type of intervention on these patients, yet he did so anyway and it resulted in death. Medical malpractice is a very serious, growing problem in the United States right now. In fact, it is the third-leading cause of death, behind only cancer and heart disease. The elderly population is at a heightened risk of injury and abuse, as they are often taken advantage of by those charged with their care.
In order to file a medical malpractice lawsuit, the claim must be able to prove the following:
- The standard of care was violated
- Injury or death was caused as a result of negligence
- The injury resulted in significant damages
Some of the most common types of medical malpractice include:
- Failure to diagnose or misdiagnosis
- Misreading laboratory results
- Unnecessary surgery
- Surgical errors
- Improper medication or dosage
- Poor follow-up or aftercare
- Failure to recognize symptoms
- Administering unnecessary care
We will keep you updated on this case as we learn more. If you believe you have a medical malpractice case on your hands or if your elderly loved one has been abused by his or her caretaker, please contact Wormington & Bollinger today.