Eddie Bernice Johnson’s family has informed the Dallas hospital where she underwent back surgery of their plans to file suit over her medical death, according to Kirk Johnson and Les Weisbrod, her son and attorney respectively. They made this announcement Thursday.
Their news release alleges that the hospital failed to properly care for her by permitting her to sit in her own feces for prolonged periods, leading to infection of an incision created during September back surgery.
What Happened?
Family of former Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (known by her initials EBJ) have decided to file suit against Baylor Scott & White Health System and their institute for rehabilitation due to Johnson’s death last December. On Thursday, their attorney Les Weisbrod informed both parties of the family’s intent to sue for negligence regarding Johnson’s care.
Kirk Johnson, her son, reported calling his mother from her hospital bed Sept 21 at the institute for rehabilitation, where she told him nobody was responding to her calls for assistance and she was lying in her own feces. Kirk found an administrator, cleaned up his mother, assigned a different caretaker – yet still wasn’t being helped.
Weisbrod presented to reporters on Thursday a voicemail from a case manager a few days later informing the family that the nurses scheduled to monitor her call station were engaged in training sessions that day.
What We Know
Eddie Bernice Johnson is well known to her constituents as “EBJ”, and during her 30 year political career has served on multiple committees and co-founded the Congressional Black Caucus; additionally she chaired the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
After several days, Eddie Bernice Johnson began experiencing “copious purulent drainage.” Later on, laboratory wound cultures revealed that this discharge was likely related to feces, according to family news releases.
Kirk Johnson said his mother often begged for help by pressing the call button at Baylor Scott & White Institute for Rehabilitation in Houston, but no one responded to him or came to help her. Kirk went into the first-floor administrator office asking someone to assist but no one came. Consequently, her family plans to file suit against both entities alleging negligence; her official cause of death by medical examiner was osteomyelitis of the lumbar spine.
What We’re Waiting For
Family of former Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (EBJ), commonly referred to by her initials, are preparing a lawsuit alleging medical negligence as the cause of her death. Their lawyer has issued a pre-suit notice letter to Baylor Scott & White Health System and Select Medical Rehabilitation Services Inc, operators of her clinic’s rehabilitation facility.
Dr. Park performed back surgery on EBJ in September, after which she was referred to the rehabilitation facility for rehabilitation. On September 21, her son Kirk found his mother lying in her own feces and urine after pressing the call button for assistance but receiving no response. Since there was nobody available at nursing station or administrator’s office to respond, Kirk decided to visit an administrator’s office instead and was met there by CEO who took him directly back into his mother’s room to see what was going on.
Laboratory wound culture reports from both EBJ’s rehab facility and Medical City Heart and Spine (where she was transferred after discovering an infection) show her surgical incision had organisms directly related to feces. Weisbrod deems this to be unacceptable and speculates that such infection may have resulted in osteomyelitis of her lumbar spine leading to her death.
Conclusion
As we move forward, we will recognize Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson for her lifelong devotion to public service and championing equality. Her pioneering work to amplify marginalized voices and break barriers in Dallas + Texas made an indelible mark on American history.
Eddie Bernice Johnson family is taking steps to preserve her legacy. They have sent a mandatory pre-suit notice letter to Baylor Scott & White Health System and Baylor Scott & White Institute for Rehabilitation notifying them of their intention to file suit alleging medical negligence in her care.
Johnson wanted to become a doctor as a child but was told girls couldn’t become nurses; nonetheless she persevered and eventually became chief psychiatric nurse at Veterans Administrative Hospital in Dallas before being elected to Texas State House in 1972, State Senate in 1986 and finally U.S. House where she led one major committee as first registered nurse ever!
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