Family sues hospital over snakebite death
BLAMES HOSPITAL, NURSE AND DOCTOR

LONDON, Ky. --
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."
The original.



Wait, these people believe that their god will save them from being bitten in the FACE by a poisonous snake, but believe that it wasn't god's will/plan/etc., it was the hospitals' fault, that she died?

Stop. You're hurting my head.