Student's Death Leads to Wrongful Death Lawsuit

David Rowell

Attorney
(866) 735-1102 Ext 640

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Jodi Woods was a student at the University of Tennessee, studying to be a teacher. In June 2006 she felt so sick that she went to the Emergency Department at Community Hospital in Martin, Tennessee. She told the staff that she had a severe headache (she described it as "the worst in her life"), and had other symptoms of bacterial meningitis, a life-threatening infection of tissue around the brain. Meningitis responds well to antibiotics but, if not treated in time, can be fatal, as it was for Jodi Woods.

According to court papers filed by the girl's mother in a wrongful death lawsuit, "Jodi Woods cried out in agony and moaned so loudly that it echoed through the corridors of the Emergency Department . . . ." The complaint alleges that the hospital staff ignored her complaints, strapped her down on a bed and called her a "drama queen," believing that she was on drugs. Eventually the hospital transferred Woods to a different hospital, where she died.

Wood's mother seeks $10 million in damages, along with court costs.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Wrongful Death.