The family of former U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson sent a pre-lawsuit notice Thursday alleging a Baylor hospital’s staff showed medical negligence that led to an infection that they say caused Johnson’s death.
The retired Dallas-area congresswoman died at her home Sunday at 89. According to a statement Thursday, orthopedic surgeon Dr. Andrew Park referred Eddie Bernice Johnson to the Baylor Scott & White Institute for Rehabilitation after she had back surgery in September.
“The name Baylor indicates a certain level of professionalism and the nursing staff and management fall far below a standard of medical care, especially in this situation,” Kirk Johnson, the former congresswoman's son, said in the statement. “I asked Baylor Scott & White Institute for Rehabilitation CEO Mr. Smith ‘Is this how you would like your mother treated? Is this customary treatment for anyone’s mother?’”
Attorney Les Weisbrod told reporters Thursday afternoon Eddie Bernice Johnson needed surgery to have hardware placed in her lower spine, otherwise she'd be at risk of losing her ability to walk due to degenerative conditions.
Kirk Johnson said he had an appointment with his mother's caseworker at the hospital the afternoon of Sept. 21, but he left earlier after his mother called him saying she couldn't reach nurses for help on her hospital bed.
About 10 minutes later, Kirk Johnson said he arrived at the hospital and found his mother in "deplorable" condition, lying in her own feces and urine, in pain. Eddie Bernice Johnson had been pushing the call button for a while to get help, he said, but no one had responded.
“I think it's ironic for a registered nurse who is a member of the Academy of Nursing to have been treated that way,” he told reporters.
After he was unable to find other nurses on the floor, Kirk Johnson said he found another Baylor employee who went to find the nurses, came back and told him they were in training and would be available shortly.
Kirk Johnson said he was directed to the administration office on the first floor, where he asked for the person in charge. Hospital CEO David Smith followed him back to Eddie Bernice Johnson’s room, where nurses were already cleaning her up.
According to the surgeon's notes shared in the release and later in hard copies given to reporters, the congresswoman started having “copious purulent drainage” from a lower back incision three days after the incident, which required surgical debridement twice. Weisbrod said this also required the surgeon to replace the hardware in Eddie Bernice Johnson's spine.
She was then transferred to a skilled nursing facility in October and later released to her home Dec. 18, where she was placed on antibiotics, Weisbrod said.
Christmas was the last chance Kirk Johnson got to speak with his mother, he said. She was aware of her worsening condition.
"She thought that she wouldn't live three weeks," he said.
Weisbrod played a voicemail he said a Baylor caseworker left Kirk Johnson after the incident, apologizing for what happened. She said the tech assigned to his mother was attending to another patient.
Weisbrod said lab wound culture results from the rehabilitation hospital and Medical City Heart and Spine showed organisms related to feces. He said the reports “leave no doubt” the infection led to her death.
“Congresswoman and Kirk and the family, they don't want this to happen to anybody else,” he said. “So, by putting this story out, if this prevents this from happening to one other person, then that would be what she would have wanted. And that's what the family wants.”
As required by Texas law, a pre-suit notice letter gives parties 60 days to try to resolve a claim before a lawsuit can be filed. Weisbrod called the state’s $250,000 limit on noneconomic damages for medical negligence lawsuits “a terrible law.”
Baylor Scott & White Health released an updated statement following the press conference.
“Congresswoman Johnson was a longtime friend and champion in the communities we serve — she is an inspiration to all,” the statement reads. “We are committed to working directly with the Congresswoman’s family members and their counsel. Out of respect for patient privacy, we must limit our comments."
Eddie Bernice Johnson's funeral will take place Tuesday at Concord Church in Dallas.
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