Tennessee Hospital Patients Reportedly Paralyzed After Medication Mix-Up During Surgery

Interesting hospital, medical malpractice, tennessee admin August 22, 2026 0 Comments

Tennessee Hospital Patients Reportedly Paralyzed After Medication Mix-Up During Surgery

Tennessee criminal investigators are now examining how four patients at a Nashville hospital received the wrong drug during routine surgeries, an error that families say left two of them unable to move.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) opened its inquiry into Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital Midtown after the Tennessee Health Facilities Commission passed along information last Friday, according to WKRN. Metro Nashville police told the outlet they are not part of the case, and the TBI described its work as active and ongoing. (RELATED: JD Vance Seeks Criminal Investigation Into Hospitals Doing Child Sex Changes, Citing Evidence Of Fraud)

Among the injured is 72-year-old Glenda Dorton of Centerville, who arrived Aug. 14 for a knee replacement and woke up paralyzed below the chest, her family told WSMV. Her daughter-in-law, Kristina Dorton, said the epidural meant to carry the anesthetic bupivacaine instead delivered potassium chloride.

“We don’t know what recovery looks like or if there is recovery,” she told WKRN. A second patient, a 74-year-old Nashville woman, remained on a ventilator, according to NewsChannel 5. CBS News reported that two patients ended up paralyzed and one landed in intensive care.

The hospital’s own account of the drug differs from the families’. In a statement released through NewsChannel 5, Ascension Saint Thomas said the mistake started in its pharmacy, where the four patients each got potassium phosphate rather than the intended spinal anesthetic mepivacaine. President and CEO Dr. Shubhada Jagasia apologized to those harmed in remarks given to WSMV.

The rarity of the TBI stepping into a medical case caught the attention of veteran Nashville malpractice attorney John Day. “In my more than 40 years of medical malpractice litigation, I only recall the TBI being involved twice,” Day told WKRN. Attorney Carl Walter questioned how the failure repeated itself. “Safeguards should have been in place to prevent this error from happening,” he told the outlet. “The fact that happened on four separate occasions that we know of is very concerning.”

Ascension Saint Thomas said it reported the incident to regulators the same day, identified the cause and added new pharmacy checks, including isolated storage for high-alert drugs and a second pharmacist to verify spinal medications, according to NewsChannel 5. The hospital also brought in outside experts to review its fixes.