Pulaski Community Hospital

Roanoke, VA: (Sep-20-07) The family of Joshua Wayne Brown brought a lawsuit against Pulaski Community Hospital, alleging that the county was negligent in its care, causing Brown to kill himself in the mental hospital with a pistol he smuggled inside. Brown had a history of mental illness. According to the lawsuit, he was first admitted to Pulaski Community Hospital because of a drug overdose. The next day, he was found to be a danger to himself because of mental illness, and arrangements were made for a Pulaski County sheriff's deputy to transport him to Carilion Saint Albans Hospital in Fairlawn. According to the suit, after Brown was admitted to Saint Albans, he pulled a .22-caliber revolver from the pants he'd been wearing since he was brought from Pulaski Community, and he shot himself. The gun he smuggled into the hospital belonged to his father.

The lawsuit, originally filed in Roanoke but moved to Pulaski County, named the two hospitals as defendants, as well as former Pulaski County sheriff's deputy Michael Ritter, who transported Brown to Saint Albans; Pulaski County Sheriff Jim Davis; and Dr. Hal Gillespie, who treated Brown at Saint Albans. The suit alleges that had any of the entities who had Brown in their custody searched him, the gun would have been found and he would still be alive. In a settlement reached, Pulaski Community Hospital has agreed to pay $125,000 to Joshua Wayne Brown's estate in order to be released from liability. [ROANOKE TIMES: MENTAL SUICIDE]

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Published on Sep-20-07