Hospital, worker face wrongful death suit Family files wrongful death suit against hospital, former assistant

The family of a 79-year-old Waco man alleges in a wrongful death lawsuit that his death was hastened after he was assaulted by a nursing assistant in July 2016.

Mary Waters, widow of Douglas D. Waters Sr., and their three adult children, Douglas D. Waters Jr., Tammy Sinkule and Tina Kelley, are seeking unspecified damages in their lawsuit, filed late last week against Baylor Scott & White Hillcrest Medical Center and former nursing assistant Felecia Elaine Thompson.

The lawsuit alleges that Thompson struck Waters on the head, neck and face while she and others were trying to calm him during "an episode of delirium and agitation" on July 6, 2016.

The assault gave Thompson post-traumatic stress disorder, stripped him of his will to recover and caused his premature death on July 28, 2016, the lawsuit, filed on the family's behalf by Waco attorney Cullan R. Britain, claims.

Deke Jones, a spokesman for the hospital, declined comment Monday because it is pending litigation.

Thompson, 31, was arrested by Waco police three weeks later. She has a pending state-jail felony injury to an elderly individual charge against her related to the incident with Waters.

Thompson's attorney, Nora Farah, said Thompson is "innocent of all allegations against her."

"She looks forward to her day in court so that the truth can vindicate her," Farah said.

According to the lawsuit, Waters was admitted to the hospital on June 4, 2016, for treatment of a suspected stroke and other ailments. He complained of body numbness, hallucinations and decreased cognitive abilities.

After a few days, the hallucinations subsided and he began to improve. He was reported to be alert, oriented and his doctors and family anticipated that he would be able to return home.

He was transferred to a rehabilitation facility and began to improve, according to the lawsuit.

"Aside from short-term memory issues, Mr. Waters was generally pleasant, conversational and was able to speak clearly and fluently," the suit says. "Therefore, the family and medical professionals continued to expect that Mr. Waters would be able to safely return home to his family in due time."

However, around June 29, 2016, Waters' condition began to regress, the suit says.

"The regression resulted in occasional episodes where Mr. Waters would be delirious, contentious and sometimes combative. The presence of Mr. Waters' family would alleviate these episodes," the suit says.

On luly 6, 2016, Waters suffered "an episode of delirium and agitation," according to the suit. He pulled at his intravenous lines and his catheter. He grabbed an IV pole and several hospital employees tried to grab the pole from him and to calm him.

While others tried to calm Waters, Thompson "began to strike Waters about his head, neck and face. Ms. Thompson eventually stopped at the behest of others, but only after causing Mr. Waters to suffer numerous abrasions and contusions about his head, neck and face," the suit alleges.

In a description of the episode written by a hospital employee and cited in the lawsuit, there is no mention of Thompson's actions or alleged assault, the suit claims.

About four hours later, the Waters family arrived for a regular visit "only to find Mr. Waters screaming for assistance, obviously in significant agony."

"The family was only informed of the incident after being rushed away from the scene by a Hillcrest employee," the suit claims. "At 11:15 a.m. - approximately four hours after the incident and after reporting the incident to a supervisor - a Hillcrest employee reported the incident to the Waco Police Department."

The family was told that no one could tend to or care for Waters until after the police finished investigating, the suit alleges.

"When the family was finally able to meet with Mr. Waters later that afternoon, he complained about the lack of treatment, the pain caused by the incident and the family saw that he was still visibly horrified and traumatized by what had been done to him at the hands of his ostensible caregivers," according to the lawsuit.

The suit alleges that Waters was showing progress in his recovery before the incident.