ATLANTA – February 19, 2024 – Bell Law Firm confirms the filing of a wrongful death lawsuit in Cobb County on behalf of plaintiff Tenika Storey following professional and administrative negligence that caused the death of her husband, 53-year-old Waymon Storey, at now-closed Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center (the “Hospital”). The defendants include Wellstar Health System Inc., Wellstar Medical Group, LLC, Kennestone Hospital, Inc., Atlanta Medical Center, Inc., South Fulton Emergency Physicians, LLC, and Dr. Richisa Salazar (formerly known as Dr. Richisa Hamilton).
Two days before Christmas in 2021, Waymon left his house to run errands for his family but never returned. At a major intersection in Lake City, another car ran a red light and rammed into Waymon, causing his vehicle to roll over twice and pinning him inside. Although Waymon suffered chest trauma, he had no life-threatening injuries. After being extricated from the vehicle, Waymon was transported by ambulance to the Hospital’s Emergency Department (the “ED”), where he presented with critically low oxygen-saturation levels—evidence that his chest trauma was impairing his ability to breathe.
At that point, the clinical care Waymon needed was basic and clear: assisted ventilation with a protected airway. But, when he arrived at the ED, Dr. Richisa Salazar did not even recognize that Waymon was at an impending risk of losing all ability to breathe, much less provide him the required care. Then, when Waymon suffered hypoxic cardiac arrest, Dr. Salazar and the rest of the trauma team failed to secure his airway—either by intubating him or by placing a surgical airway. Waymon Storey thus died gradually from oxygen deprivation at a major trauma center, in the hands of healthcare providers.
Building on the tragedy of this case, the Hospital then failed to preserve Waymon’s body. As a Hospital spokesperson admitted, Waymon’s body “was not able to be placed in refrigeration and instead was placed on a table in the autopsy suite at room temperature,” for over three days.
On New Year’s Eve 2021, the Storey family held a memorial service for Waymon with an open casket. Ten months later, Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center closed.
“This case is heartbreaking,” states Lloyd Bell, founding partner at Bell Law Firm. “Waymon Storey died in the care of providers whose job was to treat accident victims just like him. The care they failed to provide him was as basic as it gets—establishing an airway to help the accident-victim breathe. To make matters worse, the Hospital then treated Waymon and his family with further indignity and negligence, by abandoning his decomposing body on a table for over three days. It’s no surprise Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center closed down within months of Waymon’s death.”
Bell Law Firm is committed to holding the defendants responsible for their actions and delivering the rightful justice the Storey family deserves. To find the full complaint detailing the case, click here. For more information about Bell Law Firm’s medical malpractice and wrongful death experience, visit www.belllawfirm.com/results.
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About Bell Law Firm
Bell Law Firm is Georgia’s leading medical malpractice and catastrophic injury firm. Founded in 1999 by Lloyd Bell, the firm has recovered hundreds of millions for clients and families impacted by medical negligence, including a record $75M verdict, the largest in Georgia history. The firm also achieved a record-breaking $26M verdict against a Columbus hospital and a $15M verdict against the largest healthcare provider in Georgia. In addition to delivering record verdicts, Bell Law Firm was awarded “Personal Injury Litigation Team of the Year” and “Most Innovative Law Firm” by The Daily Report. Lloyd is also the only Georgia attorney in the Inner Circle of Advocates, an invitation-only group of 100 leading trial attorneys in the United States. For more information, visit www.belllawfirm.com or listen to Lloyd’s podcast, “Face the Jury.”