A doctor and a nurse were separated from Bedford County Medical Center as defendants in a medical malpractice case that's sought at least $2.5 million over the death of a man who sought treatment at the hospital's emergency room.
The ruling came Thursday from Bedford County Circuit Court Judge Lee Russell in the case brought by the widow and children of Samuel Harrison Butcher III, who died on Sept. 4, 2004, three days before his 29th birthday, according to the complaint filed by the plaintiffs' attorney, Russell Thomas of Murfreesboro.

Named in the original complaint as defendants are Dr. Kent Clark, a nurse named only as L. Brashier in the complaint, the hospital, and Quorum Health Resources LLC which was the hospital's management service hired by Bedford County before the facility was sold in July 2005.

All defendants have denied wrong-doing, indicating they worked to provide good health care and their attorneys have stated that a jury trial would prove to be successful for their clients.

The latest development in the case was on a request from the hospital's attorneys who pointed out that doctors and, in this case, nurses are technically independent contractors who work at the facilities available at the hospital.

There was no opposition to the request from attorneys representing the hospital which is now owned by Community Health Services, a hospital holding and management business headquartered in Williamson County.

Russell's ruling eliminates what's called "vicarious responsibility" by the hospital, but other defendants can be added to cases as evidence is gathered during depositions and other aspects of the discovery process prior to trial.

In the original complaint, Thomas outlined the chain of events which led Butcher to the hospital and what's claimed to be the cause of his death.

Butcher was involved in a one-vehicle crash in which a truck overturned, Thomas wrote in the complaint. While medical treatment was not sought the day of the crash, a Sunday, Butcher went to the emergency room on the next Thursday. Having presented himself with a history of smoking and high blood pressure and after a motor vehicle accident, Butcher was seen subsequent to decisions made at the emergency room based on triage assessments of patients.

That was on Sept. 2, 2004 when Butcher was discharged to see his family physician. But a heart specialist was not mentioned, according to the complaint that alleges a breach of a standard of medical care that might be expected at a rural county hospital.

Butcher continued to experience pain and died two days later, according to the complaint in the case file.

Tracy Lynn Butcher is the widow of the man for whom wrongful death is alleged. Mrs. Butcher has two children; Chase Butcher, 4, and Samantha Butcher, 10.

Jennifer Raper, a 45 year old woman living in Boston, filed a complaint last week in Suffolk Superior Court. All appeals have to be reviewed before being processed so it's not clear whether or not this case will actually go to trial.

In 1990 the state's high court approved suing in situations as Rapers but only when the resulting child had expensive medical conditions. However, according to the documented report filed with the courts, Jennifer Rapers now two-year-old is a perfectly healthy child.

The three page medical malpractice report filed with the court indicates that Raper found out she was pregnant in March of 2004 and went to Planned Parenthood seeking an abortion in April of 2004. She claimed she was financially unable to care for a child and wished to end the unwanted pregnancy.

At Planned Parenthood she was seen by Dr. Allison Bryan who was a physician working there at the time. The abortion attempt was performed on April 9, 2004 but unknown to Raper at the time, failed and she remained pregnant.

Raper ended up seeing Dr. Benjamin Eleonu at Boston Medical Center in July of 2004 when she was 20 weeks pregnant. Why she went has not yet been released but at the time of the visit the Doctor did not detect the pregnancy. He is the other Doctor being sued by Raper for lack of proper medical care and negligent in missing her pregnancy. Generally, 20 weeks gestation is hard for a trained doctor to miss, and even more so for the pregnant mother.

Jennifer Raper ended up in the emergency room at New England Medical Center in late September with symptoms of pelvic pain. It was then that she finally realized that she was indeed still pregnant. At that point a legal abortion was not possible and she gave birth to a baby girl on December 7^th of 2004.

Planned Parenthood has refused to comment as the case is pending legislation and neither Doctor has responded publicly about Rapers' claims. After the court reviews the medical neglect report a decision will be made as to whether or not it will be processed. The Doctor who performed the failed abortion no longer works for Planned Parenthood but is still a licensed practicing Physician.

Raper is suing for damages including the costs of raising her daughter.