Negligence lawsuit filed against Manatee Memorial
By NATALIE NEYSA ALUND - nalund@bradenton.com


BRADENTON — A Palmetto woman is suing Manatee Memorial Hospital claiming a former nurse there neglected and physically, sexually and verbally abused her husband during his stay this year.

Michelle Reynolds claims that her late husband, who suffered from Lou Gehrig’s disease, was abused by William Timmins during a mid-February hospital stay, according to a seven-page lawsuit filed Tuesday in Manatee County.

Because of his disease, her husband, 41-year-old Kelly Reynolds, could not move his arms or legs and could not speak without the use of a computer.


The suit alleges that, during Timmins’ 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift on Feb. 14-15, he withheld Reynolds’ pain and sleep-aid medications, left him naked on his bed for more than an hour and threw his computer to the floor so he could not communicate with anyone.

The suit states Timmins cursed at Reynolds and called him Terry, in reference to Terry Schiavo. It further claims he sexually assaulted Reynolds and “drilled his knuckles” into his back, stating, “Enjoy your free deep tissue massage.”

Another nurse, the suit continues, witnessed some of the abuse and alerted a supervisor three times, but Timmins continued to “care for” Reynolds and was allowed to finish his shift, according to the lawsuit.

When Timmins’ shift was complete, a new nurse assumed care of Reynolds and reportedly found him crying and upset.

“His computer was reassembled and he described (by using the computer) what had transpired during Nurse Timmins’ shift,” the suit states.

Jay Cohen, an attorney representing Manatee Memorial Hospital, said the hospital denies the abuse allegations against Timmins, who worked at the hospital for three years before he was fired.

“Manatee Memorial takes these allegations very seriously and immediately conducted an investigation of this matter upon being notified of these claims,” Cohen said. “Our review of this matter indicated that while there may have been some discourteous behavior by the nurse in question, which did not meet our standard of service excellence. (But) there was no abuse as alleged in the lawsuit.”

During Timmins’ employment, there had never been any prior incidents of patient safety or abuse, Cohen said.

“Notwithstanding, Manatee Memorial has a zero tolerance policy for any impolite behavior toward patients or their families and, as a result, the nurse was immediately terminated,” Cohen said. “While we deny any claims of abuse, the nurses and employees at Manatee Memorial deeply regret that this patient may have experienced anything less than the most polite and courteous behavior from a former nurse. This is an insolated complaint and is not indicative of the caring, kind and competent nursing staff at Manatee Memorial Hospital.”

Court papers show Kelly Reynolds was previously in the U.S armed forces and that he died May 9.

Although the hospital allegedly caused injury to Reynolds, the suit states its negligence did not cause Reynolds’ death.

The suit claims negligent hospital supervision and hiring, and seeks more than $15,000 in damages.

Reynolds’ wife is represented by the law firm of Morgan & Morgan, P.A., who did not return phone calls Tuesday.

Timmins could not be reached for comment.

http://www.bradenton.com/news/breaki...y/1102419.html