Texas Pastor Died From E. Coli After Hospital Bungled Lab Test, Widow Claims In Lawsuit

A Texas pastor and father-of-six suffering from a life-threatening shape of E. coli died aft doctors treated him pinch nan incorrect drugs, according to a aesculapian malpractice suit obtained by The Independent.

When Bishop Jonathan Sayles was admitted to Houston’s Kingwood infirmary successful July 2024 pinch what he thought was pneumonia, he underwent a artillery of diagnostic tests, including a lung civilization that tested affirmative for extended-spectrum beta-lactamase E. coli, an antibiotic-resistant and perchance deadly – but treatable – shape of nan bacterial infection, says a title revenge July 14 successful Harris County District Court by nan 66-year-old’s widow, Rachel.

However, nan title contends, nan laboratory astatine Kingwood did not stock that accusation pinch Sayles, his family, aliases nan physicians caring for him, and he was sent location pinch a medicine for an oral antibiotic wholly “ineffective against nan resistant organism.”

“The infection progressed unchecked, requiring a bid of progressively terrible hospitalizations, until Mr. Sayles died astatine Kingwood connected October 21, 2024,” nan title states.

Attorney Alexander Craus, who is representing nan Sayles family, called nan business “a blatant failure,” and described Sayles’s loved ones arsenic “devastated.”

“He did what he was expected to do, he went to nan hospital, saw a doctor, and did a test,” Craus told The Independent. “You’d deliberation that erstwhile a trial is done, they're going to return attraction of you and fto you cognize what you have. And they conscionable didn't fto him know.”

E. coli in nan lungs is rare, and tin only beryllium beaten backmost pinch IV antibiotics, according to Craus, who said punctual curen successful specified a business is important because nan germs multiplies exponentially. Without contiguous action, he explained, things tin quickly scope nan constituent of nary return.

“Hospitals are becoming much and much for illustration businesses, and sometimes you hide that nan full constituent of a infirmary is to springiness group care,” Craus went on, adding that a plethora of unfastened questions remain. “... They dropped nan ball. But we still don’t cognize really nan shot was dropped.”

Officials astatine Kingwood, which is portion of nan HCA Healthcare network, did not respond connected Thursday to a petition for comment.

A Brooklyn, New York, native, Sayles established nan True Deliverance Ministries Fellowship successful 2014. His church bio says Sayles was a “remarkable individual whose bequest resonates done nan lives he touched.”

“A talented musician, his melodies and harmonies captivated audiences and enriched nan belief experiences of his community,” it reads. “As a awesome preacher, he inspired countless individuals pinch his eloquent sermons and profound insights, imparting contented that encouraged maturation and religion among his followers… His unwavering dedication to nan TDM Fellowship and his compassionate guidance time off an indelible mark, reminding america each of nan powerfulness of emotion and unity successful faith.”

On July 18, 2024, Sayles was not emotion good and went to Kingwood to get checked out, according to his wife’s complaint. There, it says, infirmary staffers performed a artillery of tests, diagnosing him pinch pneumonia, aft which he was prescribed a modular antibiotic regimen and discharged.

Four days later, nan infirmary received laboratory results showing that Sayles had tested affirmative for ESBL E. coli, which nan title describes arsenic “a superior and antibiotic-resistant bacterial infection successful his lungs.”

“Despite nan captious quality of this diagnosis, Kingwood Hospital grounded to notify Mr. Sayles, his family, aliases his treating physicians of these results,” nan title states.

Weeks passed, and Sayles remained wholly unaware of nan deadly E. coli ravaging his pulmonary system, nan title continues.

Finally, connected August 9, 2024, Sayles visited a respiratory master successful North Houston, who discovered nan deadly infection. The title says nan caller doctor’s notes “indicate[d] that Mr. Sayles was ‘likely treated pinch incorrect [antibiotics] and had nary follow-up’ owed to nan hospital’s omission.”

“Recognizing nan urgency, [that doctor] advised contiguous hospitalization but accommodated Mr. Sayles’ petition to present a last sermon to his congregation connected August 11, 2024, arranging for nonstop admittance to nan infirmary thereafter,” according to nan complaint.

Following his past sermon, Sayles was picked up successful a van and taken backmost to Kingwood, wherever he spent nan adjacent fewer months undergoing a “grueling ordeal,” nan title states.

“During this period, he endured aggregate infirmary admissions, invasive testing, fierce treatments, and important symptom and suffering arsenic nan infection progressed,” it goes on. “His information deteriorated steadily, robbing him of precious clip pinch his family and causing immense beingness and affectional distress.”

The title says Sayles’ woman soon revenge a general grievance pinch Kingwood complete its “failure to communicate” nan ESBL E. coli diagnosis.

The infirmary responded 7 days later, acknowledging that Sayles had so been released pinch “a type of germs that is resistant to antibiotics,” and that “no 1 communicated astir nan results aft his discharge,” nan title alleges.

“The consequence expressed regret and stated that Kingwood would ‘review our process and supply education’ to forestall early occurrences,” according to nan complaint.

Kingwood breached its work to “establish and travel a reasonably capable strategy for receiving, reviewing, and communicating captious and abnormal laboratory results to patients and their treating physicians, including aft discharge,” which it “effectively acknowledged successful writing,” nan title states. That breach, it argues, “directly and proximately caused Mr. Sayles’s infection to advancement unchecked, precipitating nan cascade of hospitalizations described supra and, ultimately, his death.”

In 2016, a toddler pinch E. coli was misdiagnosed 5 times by doctors who astatine first believed nan kid had a communal tummy flu. Days later, 2-year-old Grayson Dunham was dead.

Two years earlier, a 49-year-old female died aft a deadly fungal infection successful her lungs was misdiagnosed arsenic COPD and pneumonia, resulting successful a $2 cardinal colony for nan family.

Last year, a Canadian teen was awarded astir $12 cardinal USD a decade-and-a-half aft she was misdiagnosed arsenic an babe pinch a viral infection, alternatively than nan bacterial lung infection she really had. By nan clip doctors figured it out, nan woman was successful septic daze and coiled up losing her correct hand, parts of 4 fingers connected her near manus and some her legs.

The only disposable remedy now near for nan Sayles family is to sue, Craus said.

“I wish location was immoderate benignant of sage-like proposal I could springiness astir really to debar this benignant of thing, but sometimes you conscionable person to spell to tribunal and fig it out,” he told The Independent. “Lawsuits are astir money, but they're besides astir holding group accountable. People person a prime astir what infirmary they spell to, and it's important that they spell to hospitals wherever they're not making these kinds of mistakes.”

Sayles’s woman and grown children are now seeking a minimum of $1 cardinal for, among different things, nonaccomplishment of companionship, society, and consortium; intelligence anguish; nonaccomplishment of income and Social Security benefits; nonaccomplishment of family services; and nonaccomplishment of inheritance, nether Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 71.

“He was an overwhelmingly affirmative summation to people’s lives, nan benignant of feline you want to know,” Craus said. “This was conscionable a unspeakable tragedy.”