Gateway Regional Medical Center
A woman who was being treated for a "medicine" overdose filed suit against Gateway Regional Medical Center in Madison County Circuit Court March 7, claiming she was beaten up by another patient while recovering.
Acccording to the suit, Patricia Barker claims she entered Gateway on March 3, 2006, for the purpose of receiving emergency care for an overdose of medicine. She was admitted to Gateway's Kettler Center, a behavioral health treatment facility, two days later.
Barker alleges that on March 9, 2006, she was injured by another patient who attacked her without any provocation.
"The patient who attacked Baker, had attacked another patient earlier that day," the complaint states.
Barker claims Gateway failed to provide adequate security guards to control disturbances at Kettler, failed to protect her from injury, failed to warn patients of the dangerous conditions and failed to employ a skilled nursing staff or other servants to handle uncontrollable patients.
She claims the attack caused her to become sick, sore, lame and disordered for a long period of time and has been permanently and totally disabled from carrying on her usual occupation in life and has lost "large gains and emoluments which she would otherwise have earned and received and has been forced to lay out and expend and become liable for large sums of money" in medical expenses.
Represented by Morgan Scroggins of Granite City, Barker is seeking damages in excess of $50,000 to fairly and adequately compensate her for her injuries.
The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Barbara Crowder.
07 L 217