HUNTINGTON – A Wayne County woman says negligent medical care led to her husband’s death.
Evelyn Stamper, as administratrix of the estate of Ronald Stamper, filed her complaint January 23 in Cabell Circuit Court against St. Mary’s Medical Center and the Marshall University Board of Governors.
diTrapano
“Mr. Stamper’s medical providers failed him at every turn,” attorney L. Dante diTrapano told The West Virginia Record. “A basic understanding of his condition would have saved his life.”
Ronald Stamper was admitted to St. Mary’s on December 8, 2023, with complaints of weakness, nausea and more. He had a history of congestive heart failure and coronary artery disease that required a pacemaker and multiple medications.
Upon admission, he was under the care of Dr. Elizabeth Saunders and Dr. Charles E. Meadows III. Lab tests and imaging studies showed elevated bilirubin level and an ultrasound that identified stones in his gallbladder.
Consults were made with Dr. Curtis Harrison and Dr. David Denning, according to the complaint, which also says neither investigated a non-surgical cause of the elevated bilirubin level.
Dr. Ahmed Sherif, a gastroenterologist, was consulted and said it could be because of a cardiac issue, but the complaint says Sherif did not advise against surgery or inform Stamper’s family of his opinion.
The complaint says nothing in the pre-operative workup indicated Stamper’s gallbladder condition was a cause of the elevated bilirubin.
Surgery was performed December 12, 2023. Two days later, physical therapy assistant Carly Ferguson told the nursing staff Stamper was unsteady and had dizziness when standing.
“There is nothing in the chart to indicate that any evaluation was performed by a nurse or a doctor to assess these complaints,” the complaint states. “Per Mr. Stamper’s medical records, he was ‘ready for discharge’ the following day, December 15, 2023.”
But around 8 p.m. on December 14, 2025, Stamper fell and fractured his hip. That was about six hours after Ferguson had notified nurses Stamper was unsteady and dizzy.
“Stamper’s medical records from around this time also indicates periods of hypotension without further evaluation by nursing or physician personnel, specifically failures by Kathy Smith, R.N., who last saw Mr. Stamper at 7:30 p.m. before he fell,” the complaint states.
“Stamper was taken to surgery for his fractured hip but suffered cardiac arrest and died on December 15, 2023, likely caused by his having the gallbladder surgery and subsequent hip surgery.”
The complaint says the defendants failed to appropriately examine Stamper to determine the medical cause of his elevated bilirubin.
“Such evaluation would more likely than not have shown a cardiac, non-surgical origin of the elevated bilirubin,” the complaint states. “Had Mr. Stamper not undergone an otherwise unnecessary gallbladder surgery, he would not have had his cardiac arrest and died on December 15, 2023.”
The estate accuses the defendants of negligence and violation of the West Virginia Medical Professional Liability Act. The complaint says the negligent acts were a deviation from the standard of care and caused Stamper’s severe personal injuries, physical deterioration, pain and suffering, emotional distress and death.
The estate seeks compensatory damages, general damages, special damages, medical expenses, economic damages, non-economic damages, funeral and burial expenses, punitive damages, pre- and post-judgment interests, court costs, attorney fees and other relief.
The estate is being represented by diTrapano, Timothy D. Houston and David H. Carriger of Calwell Luce diTrapano in Charleston and by Dr. Richard D. Lindsay of Tabor Lindsay & Associates in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Chad Lovejoy.
Cabell Circuit Court case number 26-C-20
