Family Of Woman Kicked Out Of Hospital Files Lawsuit

The family of a woman who died shortly after she was forcibly removed from a Florida hospital has filed a federal lawsuit on her behalf.

According to NBC News, Barbara Dawson was seen at Calhoun-Liberty Hospital for stomach pains on the evening of December 21, 2015. Dawson was given an oxygen tank and several hours later was informed she would be discharged, even after she demanded more care after facing shortness of breath. John Tadlock, a former Blountstown police officer, was called around 4:45 a.m. after the hospital discharged Dawson for “disorderly conduct and trespassing.” When Dawson collapsed next to the patrol car during the attempted arrest, she was taken back into the hospital where she was pronounced dead at 6:24 a.m.

On Saturday (July 16), the family listed the charges of false imprisonment, lack of emergency care, battery and a civil rights claim towards against Calhoun-Liberty Hospital, two of its former employees, the city of Blountstown and Tadlock. The former cop resigned in March. “Up until this point neither [the hospital nor the city] has been willing to talk. That left us with no choice but to file against both of them,” attorney Daryl Parks said on Monday.

A medical examiner cited Dawson’s cause of death a blood clot due to being excessively overweight.

Drew Peacock, an emergency medical technician, and Jennifer Waldorff, a nurse were fired from the hospital after an investigation showed several errors during their interaction with Dawson. The hospital was also fined $45,000 by Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration.

A separate investigation by the Florida state attorney Glenn Hess found that Tadlock’s behavior was”appropriate under the circumstances and there was no criminal law violation.”

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