Woman left paralyzed from waist down after she was mistakenly given lethal injection drug ahead of knee replacement surgery, family says
Glenda Dorton, a 72-year-old woman from Tennessee, was left paralysed from the waist down after a reported medication error before knee-replacement surgery at Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital Midtown in Nashville. Her family says potassium was administered instead of the usual epidural pain medication, causing a spinal injury; the case raises serious concerns about hospital pharmacy controls and patient safety.
The incident occurred on 14 August and affected four patients, according to reports: at least one other person was reportedly paralysed and another required intensive care. Potassium chloride can be dangerous when administered incorrectly and has previously been used in Tennessee’s lethal-injection protocol; the hospital has self-reported the event, says it identified the cause and introduced safeguards, while state regulators and reportedly the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation are examining the case. Dorton has been transferred to a specialist rehabilitation centre in Chicago, and her family is preparing for the possibility that her paralysis is permanent.
- Reported drug error left a Tennessee woman paralysed after knee surgery.
- Four patients were reportedly affected at the Nashville hospital.
- Hospital and state authorities are investigating the incident.
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Knee-replacement surgery replaces damaged parts of the knee to reduce pain and improve movement. Pain relief may be given through an epidural, which delivers medicine near the nerves in the spine; the correct drug and dose need to be checked carefully.
Potassium chloride is a medicine used in controlled doses for some medical treatments, but giving it incorrectly can cause severe harm. Tennessee has also used it as part of its lethal-injection protocol, though its medical use and use in executions are separate contexts.
Hospitals rely on checks in pharmacies and clinical teams to ensure patients receive the right medicines. Regulators investigate serious medication errors to establish what happened and whether safeguards were adequate.