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HERALD-LEADER (Lexington, Kentucky) 08 November 07 Snakebite victim's family sues - Blames Hospital, Nurse And Doctor (Bill Estep)
London: As a woman bitten by a rattlesnake during a church service in London struggled to breathe, hospital employees made derogatory comments about her religious beliefs rather than providing proper care, contributing to her death, a lawsuit charges.
The case arises from the Nov. 5, 2006, death of Linda F. Long, 48, a London homemaker. Police said at the time that Long was handling a yellow timber rattler during a service at East London Holiness Church when the snake bit her on the right cheek.
People bitten by poisonous snakes during religious services sometimes refuse medical treatment. But others at that service quickly took Long to Marymount Medical Center in London.
According to the lawsuit, on the way to Marymount, someone in the vehicle called 911 at 7:46 p.m.; a dispatcher connected the call to the hospital, and the driver asked for an air ambulance to fly Long to Lexington. Hospital employees assured the Long family a helicopter was available.
A nurse met Long and those with her in the parking area outside the emergency room. Rather than take Long in right away, the nurse engaged Long and her family "in a lengthy and time-consuming series of questions" that went far beyond getting information needed to treat the snakebite, the lawsuit states.
After being taken into the hospital at 8:09 p.m., Long said she was having trouble breathing, and asked for oxygen. Hospital employees gave her a portable, oscillating fan as they allegedly "snickered and made derogatory comments" to employees -- and Long's family -- about the religious beliefs and circumstances under which she was bitten.
Her blood pressure dropped; her heart rate went up; her neck, face and tongue swelled; and she went into shock. However, a doctor failed to properly treat her and did not put in a tube to help her breathe, according to the lawsuit.
At 8:28 p.m., hospital personnel contacted the air ambulance service. When the helicopter arrived 12 minutes later, the crew asked the doctor to put in a tube to help Long breathe, but the doctor said her airway was not the problem and told the flight crew to get her to Lexington quickly, the suit says.
Long's heart stopped on the way. She was pronounced dead at 10:50 p.m. at the University of Kentucky Medical Center.
The defendants named in the lawsuit are the hospital; Faith Howard, the registered nurse who allegedly met Long outside the emergency room; and Dr. Edward Wilson, who was on duty in the emergency room. Long's husband, Gary Wayne Long, and daughter Angela Shackleford, who was appointed to administer her estate, are the plaintiffs.
The suit says Howard's failure to quickly and properly treat Long contributed to her death, and that Wilson's failure to give proper treatment contributed to the severity of her condition and "resulted in her ultimate demise." The hospital failed to adhere to proper standards of care, the lawsuit says.
The complaint also says the unprofessional comments about Long's religious beliefs were discriminatory and caused her and her family emotional pain and humiliation.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for Linda Long's suffering, loss of ability to earn money and wrongful death; and for Gary Wayne Long's loss of his wife, as well as for punitive damages.
Attorney Robert W. Riley represents the estate and Gary Wayne Long. Riley declined comment on additional details on the lawsuit's claims, including what the alleged derogatory comments were
The lawsuit was filed Nov. 1 and the hospital has not filed a formal response. Sharon Hershberger, public affairs director for the Marymount, said she could not comment on the allegations in the suit, but she said the hospital takes such complaints seriously and is investigating the case.
"We're committed to providing quality patient care," she said.
Handling snakes in a religious service is a misdemeanor in Kentucky, but police rarely pursue charges because the practice involves a matter of religious freedom and believers are willing participants.
Perhaps the last time believers were charged in Kentucky was in 1988. A judge dismissed the charges against four Knox County church members at the request of the county attorney, who said the law against handling snakes in religious services probably wouldn't withstand a constitutional challenge.
The county attorney in Bell County filed a complaint against a snake-handling preacher in 1995 after a woman was bitten at a Middlesboro church and died, but a judge refused to issue a summons for the preacher.
Snake-handlers believe the practice shows faith and God's power. The text for the belief is Mark 16:17-18: "And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."
Snakebite victim's family sues

Oh good grief, why don't they sue all the horridus in Kentucky for allowing in their numbers such an unwilling participant in a pasttime God has obviously ordained as safe? I mean, it's not the hospital's fault that one timber decided not to play by the rules.

But seriously, hospitals never, and rightly so, make promises to save people's lives. It sounds like either a particularly neurotoxic individual got ahold of the poor woman or she had complications from anaphylaxis from...dare I say it...previous exposure(?). Just speculation of course.

The point is, she knowingly and in her full right mind (maybe), decided to pick up that snake and test fate. She played her odds wrong and was nailed, surprise surprise. Not only that, but the bite resulted from an activity that's already against state law. Snakes are generally placid creatures but can only take just so much a capella southern gospel and tambourine bangin'. Who knows, maybe they should sue God. He evidently let this one slip through his fingers. I do feel sorry for her family, but I can't help but get the sneaking suspicion that the charges are greatly exaggerated and unnecessary.
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Chance Duncan
www.rivervalleyexotics.com

Chance,

I agree to an extent. Being that she was a willing participant, and this was part of her religion, she knew full well the risk she was taking. The saddest part is not her death, but the fact that in spite of her death, people will continue to perform such ridiculous and suicidal acts in the name of religion, and then cry about it when it inevitably goes all wrong.

That said...hospitals are required to give a certain standard of care, despite what moronic activities preceded. Whether a person handles a rattlesnake, gets hit by a bus while playing hop-scotch in the street, or plays Russian roulette with a chambered glock, medical ethics dictates that they are all deserving of the same level of care. IF, and only IF, the allegations in the lawsuit are completely true, the doctors and hospital deserve severe reprimands.

Then again, it is possible that the allegations made against the hospital are bogus, and the family is desperate to save face, while at the same time passing blame to a third party regarding their daughters poor choices.

Oh I completely agree with you that if the hospital staff indeed acted with such ill tact, then by all means sue the pants off of them. Again though, I can't help but feel that they didn't act in this manner and that the family, now having suffered a great loss, is trying to find anyone to blame but the one most at fault. I do apologize if I appear a bit callous on this issue, but I won't sugar-coat my statements. The very same good ol' southern folk who whole-heartedly believe passages like those are some of the most vehement snake killers I've ever met. It's definitely a one way street - this idea they buy about respect between snake and man.
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Chance Duncan
www.rivervalleyexotics.com

The line saying they will take up serpents with their hands AND WHEN THEY DRINK POISON IT WILL NOT HARM THEM-sure, it says drinking poison will not harm them, but that verse does not say that the serpents they take up will never bite them-it just says they will take up serpents-at least as it is usually quoted. I'll have to look it up in a Bible myself and see how it's actually written.

"The text for the belief is Mark 16:17-18: "And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all;"

.....Sounds like someone either didn't believe or was wrong.

"they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."

.......They should have been doing some of that "placing hands on sick people" instead of driving her to the hospital if they are so sure that it works. I think I would prefer a hospital, even in kentucky.
Ryan

oh snap! the last part of your post was great.

I know you were trying to make a joke, but MOST hospitals here in KY are very good- especially the Level 1 Trauma centers, which we know from personal experience (bites to Jim and consulting on bites to others) actually do a very good job of treating snakebite. There are bad seeds everywhere and while it is certainly possible the original hospital (the one being sued) screwed up, please remember the newspaper is reporting what the family's lawyer told them. I think it was a pretty one-sided article.
The media everywhere tend to do such a poor job it is basically impossible to judge this story based on what the media reports- we would need the whole story to do that.
Kristen
KY Reptile Zoo

I agree 100%,without all the facts who knows what happened.
People sue hospitals all the time,even when the best care possible was provided,but sometimes hospitals and or their staff make very poor decisions.

Maybe good care was provided and somebody said something derogatory about the victims choice of religion,hurt feelings/egos can make people very willing to get back at those that offended them.
I don't know and don't want to...

I will still continue to make tasteless, offensive jokes at every possible opportunity...LOL I can't help it.
Ryan

"The text for the belief is Mark 16:17-18: "And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all;"

I am both an ordained minister and a reptile hobbyist, and I do not use reptiles in my religious services.

Many people take Scripture literally when it is really symbolic. When the Bible speaks of things that bite and sting and are poisonous, this is symbolic for the things of the devil. This Scripture does not mean to literally pick up snakes or drink poison. The snake handling groups do not understand Scripture correctly. The real meaning in very simple terms is the devil cannot damage true believers.

AG Bull

They do not garantee the out come but.
If they delayed treatment causing death.
due to spending time harassing the victim.
There is the problem.
She had the right to fast treatment not being harassed
till there was no chance of treating her.

how would you feel if one of you guys got bit by your pet
and the hospital spent valuable time telling you your a fool for having a venomous pet then you die when they should have been treating you FIRST?
there would be a major lawsuit also.
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Bud

Apparently 'God' didn't consider his faithful worshiper worthy of being saved. Man isn't religion great.

Unfortunately we live with a legal system where it is common for a person to sue everyone in sight after having inflicted injury on him/her self via idiocy. If I use a Black and decker drill to try to remove ear wax and bore a hole in my brain it's . . . all Black and Decker's fault!

that is definitely not a fair comparison. i agree, you have no right to sue black and Decker, but this family is not trying to sue the snake. if you went to the hospital and they let you die because they delayed treatment because they were laughing about how silly you were to put the drill in your ear, then at that point, yes, you do have a right to sue. it is no concern of the hospital HOW she was injured, or how you got the hole in your ear, there only concern should be treating you as soon as possible and to the best of their ability. everyone seems to be falling on the side of the hospital here, but assuming the facts printed here are correct, the hospital is at fault and i hope they lose and lose big. those that know me, know i am very close with many of the religious snake handlers. i have worked with them for years on how to better house their snakes, keep them in better health, ect. my thoughts are, if we can keep what they have alive longer, there will be fewer taken from the wild for this purpose. most of them are very good people. in a time of need, they are willing to help. i recall when this happened, and immediately there was talk about what happened at the hospital. this wasn't something that came up after the fact for the purpose of a suite. my girlfriend also keeps venomous snakes, and if she were to get bit and we took her to the hospital and treatment was delayed for even a minute because the staff choose to ridicule her for keeping venomous snakes, i would take action against them, and everyone here that has been ridiculing my friends would do the same thing.

Your making the assumption that everything the press report (which itself appeared to be very one-sided) is correct. As I stated in my previous post, I'm with you, in that if what is said is true, then the hospital and the doctors should pay bigtime. Everyone is entitled to the same quality of care, no matter how moronic the situation was that got them there in the first place.

However...how often, especially dealing with sensationalistic situations like this, is a press report factually accurate? All the information garnered for the report was from the family's side, which of course is going to be inflammatory towards the hospital. I find it somewhat hard to believe that any alleged negligence on the hospitals part could have been that great (i.e. making fun of her while she asphyxiated), and am pretty inclined to believe that the family is simply making all, or at least the bulk of it, up.

I am not making an assumption based on the news paper story. if you read my post carefully, i stated that i heard about this when it happened. i didn't know this family personally. most of the serpent handlers i deal with are in GA and AL....but i do know a few from KY. this family attended church with very good friends of mine. They called me when it happened and i sent them this article and they validated what was written. i trust them and i think it happened just this way. i don't think the personal at the hospital took it serious. most people do not die from snake bite, i think its something like 7 to 8 out of the 8000 that are bitten each year in the US. i think they were treating the case routine at best and most likely laxidasical in my opinion. i think the staff was belittling to her and i think they did not give this case the expedited attention that was needed. the family did the correct thing by calling ahead. their call was basically ignored and nothing was put into place till she was actually at the hospital. if i was rushing Jessica to an ER that i new wasn't equipped to deal with an envenomation and i called ahead and advised to have life force ready and they didn't even call for it till we were there, i would have a problem with that....as anyone should. even if nothing could be done to save Jessie, over hearing the medical personal ridiculing her life style as she was dying is reason enough to take action on these people. i am not sure what ER's you guys have been to, but i have accompanied several people to ER's after envenomations, and i have never dealt with a staff that handled it with the sense of emergency that is necessary. i know they can't save everyone, and they may not have been able to save her, even if the chopper was ready when they arrived, but the thing is, we will never know now, cause she is dead. maybe she wouldn't be if they took them serious when they called ahead. so, my take is, 1. the chopper was not ready to when they arrived and it should have been. 2. the nurse held them up in the parking lot asking questions about how she got bite and their religion. these 2 points are more then enough for a case to be brought. 3. while finally administering aide, they began to laugh and ridicule. now, i don't think the staff meant to kill this woman, like i said, they just didn't realize how serious this was. however, their actions may have lead to this woman's death.

A lot of second and third hand information flying around.

Hard to say how well the problem was communicated over the phone or the severity of the issue. How long did they delay in taking her to the hospital in the first place....etc etc.

Seriously, a face bite from a Timber? Wow...that's serious.

Why didn't the church have AV on hand? Did they have bite protocol sheets?

I can certainly see how there is a lot of blame to go around.

I'd be reluctant to buy too much into what either side is saying....it's always easier to blame someones death on someone else than taking some measure of responsibility.

so what you are saying is that whenever a family member calls an ER and says they need a chopper they should have one there waiting? How would this expedite care for everyone? You posted the statistic of how many people actually die from these bites so the hospital had to assess the situation before summoning the chopper, that's protocol. I grew up in very rural s. carolina and worked as an EMT for over 5 years. I can tell you this, no chopper will ever be requested until someone with medical training has seen the patient first and the full gravity of the situation has been determined. You must also realize that the chopper may have been on stand-by for some other call (like maybe a bad motor vehicle accident) or the chopper could have already had a patient loaded or just finished a call somewhere else. It takes time to re-stock these medical air ambulances as they can only hold limited amount of supplies due to weight restrictions.

Now about the comments made by the nursing staff. If a nurse tells a patient that certain type of behavior is stupid and careless is that wrong? If a person stabs himself in the leg and the nurse tells him that he was dumb is that wrong? If a person purposefully picks up a rattlesnake and gets bit and the nurse tells them that is dumb or a careless activity, is that wrong? I seriously doubt that the nurse kept them outside for 10 minutes giving them a lecture.

If anyone is at fault here it's the person who voluntarily handled a venomous snake and the doctor's for not intubating and that is it, nobody else. To add the hospital and nuring staff is just trying to get more money. I think the will have a hard time finding a jury that will view this any other way. The average person will probably not find fault with anyone other than the deceased lady since most people think religous snake handlers are crazy to begin with.
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Josh & Krysty Hutto
J&K Reptiles

Various Ball Pythons, boas, dogs, cats, fish, an amel tiger retic female, a couple sulcatas and a few other odds and ends.

a BAD dog is MADE not bred, support the American Pit Bull Terrier as the greatest breed of dogs on Earth!!!!!

I think everyone agrees that if the hospital staff delayed treatment to point & laugh or in any other way failed to properly treat her they should be sued.

I have known many ER nurses and doctors quite well, I cannot imagine even the worst ones watching someone die because they didn't agree with their choices.
Ryan