Lawsuit says Tennessee hospital shouldn't have discharged woman who died, police should have helped
ABC News
A federal lawsuit says a woman who died last February shouldn’t have been discharged from a Tennessee hospital, forced to leave despite her pleas for more help and unassisted by security guards and police during a medical emergency
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- A federal lawsuit says that a woman who died last February shouldn't have been discharged from a Tennessee hospital, forced to leave despite her pleas for more help and unassisted by security guards and police during a medical emergency.
The son of 60-year-old Lisa Edwards on Thursday sued the city of Knoxville, a security company, individual officers and security guards, Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center, its parent company and a physician group.
The death sparked public outrage after the Knoxville Police Department released video early last year showing officers accusing Edwards of faking mobility and breathing problems and ignoring her repeated pleas for help.
Edwards used a wheelchair because of a disability from a previous stroke, the lawsuit says.
Security officers at the hospital called police Feb. 5, 2023, saying that Edwards had been evaluated and discharged, but she was refusing to leave. Several police officers were investigated. The lawsuit filed in Knoxville names three officers who were later disciplined by the city's police department, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel.
