KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A faulty waste pipe connection led to a “downpour of human waste” on an intensive care patient, his mother and nurses in the hospital room, according to a lawsuit against the University of Tennessee Medical Center and contractors who did remodeling work there.
Patricia Gibson and Joel Patterson are seeking up to $1 million in compensatory damages and up to another $1 million in punitive damages for the May 4, 2020 incident, WBIR reported.
“This was bad,” Dail Cantrell, attorney for the family, told WBIR.
Cantrell said a connection between two pipes was not properly sealed causing a slow leak in the ceiling above the room before bursting and spilling hundreds of gallons of wastewater, WBIR reported.
Gibson and nurses tried to protect Patterson from the toxic water. Their room was the only one affected by the pipe break.
“Since Mr. Patterson was on a respirator and intubated, he was not able to avoid this downpour of human waste,” according to the lawsuit.
The hospital said it would not comment on litigation.
In June, the hospital filed a third-party complaint against the contractors who did the renovation work, WBIR reported.
A Speedwell mother and son are suing the University of Tennessee Medical Center and two contractors after they say a "downpour of human waste" fell on them while he was in an intensive care unit room last year.
Posted by WBIR Channel 10 on Monday, August 16, 2021
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