Ascension Saint Thomas Midtown Medication Error: What Nashville Families Should Know

Nashville news outlets are reporting a serious medication error at Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital Midtown. According to multiple reports, four patients who came in for joint replacement surgery on August 14, 2026, were harmed by a medication mix-up. One of them, 72-year-old Glenda Dorton of Centerville, is now paralyzed from the chest down, her family says.

The hospital has confirmed that an event affected four patients and has apologized. Here is what is publicly known, who is investigating, and what Tennessee families can do next.

What Happened at Ascension Saint Thomas Midtown?

Four patients went in for joint replacement surgeries at Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital Midtown on August 14, 2026. Glenda Dorton went in for a routine knee replacement. Her daughter-in-law, Kristina Dorton, told FOX 17 News and other Nashville outlets that before surgery began, Glenda was supposed to receive Bupivacaine for an epidural and was given potassium chloride instead.

The family says the medication came directly from the pharmacy, and they have said publicly that they do not blame Glenda’s doctors, anesthesiologist, or immediate care team. According to the family’s account, surgeries were halted after staff noticed two patients showing similar complications.

Glenda’s knee replacement went forward. Her family says that when she woke in recovery, she could not move or feel anything from her chest down. She was taken to Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital West, placed on a ventilator, and had spinal fluid drained to remove excess potassium, along with high-dose steroids. The family was told on August 18 that she has T6 paralysis.

Ascension Saint Thomas has confirmed that four patients were affected by the event and has apologized. In a statement, hospital president and CEO Dr. Shubhada Jagasia said leadership was “deeply sorry for the harm caused” to its patients. The hospital said it self-reported the incident to state regulators the same day, identified the cause, and put corrective safeguards in place. It has not publicly detailed exactly what went wrong or the condition of the other three patients, citing patient privacy.

Why Is a Potassium Chloride Mix-Up So Serious?

Concentrated potassium chloride is one of the most closely controlled drugs in any hospital. Given the wrong way, it disrupts the electrical signals that keep the heart and nervous system working, and it can cause life-threatening harm within minutes. The medical field has known this for decades and built specific rules to keep concentrated potassium out of the wrong hands.

We wrote a full guide on what a potassium medication error does to the body, the safeguards that are supposed to prevent it, and the records a family should request in the first week. If your family was affected, start here: what families should do after a Nashville medication error.

Who Is Investigating the Nashville Hospital Medication Error?

The Tennessee Health Facilities Commission was reported on site at Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital Midtown to review the incident after the hospital reported that four patients were affected. Nashville outlets have also reported that the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is looking into what happened.

These reviews matter, but they run on their own timeline. State and federal reviews routinely take a year or more, and they do not preserve evidence on any single family’s behalf. A regulatory investigation is not a substitute for protecting your own claim.

What Should Affected Families Do Now?

What a family does in the first two weeks often decides what is provable a year later. The short version:

• Request the complete medical record in writing from every facility involved, not just the discharge summary.
• Write down every conversation now, with names, titles, dates, and what was said.
• Sign nothing from a risk manager, patient advocate, or insurer without legal review.
• Keep everything with a dollar figure on it, including bills, receipts, mileage, and days missed from work.
• Do not wait for the investigation to finish before protecting your rights.

How Long Do Tennessee Families Have to Act?

Tennessee medication error claims fall under the Tennessee Health Care Liability Act, Tenn. Code Ann. 29-26-101 et seq. The general deadline is one year from the injury, or one year from the date it could reasonably have been discovered, under Tenn. Code Ann. 29-26-116.

Before filing, Tenn. Code Ann. 29-26-121 requires written pre-suit notice to each prospective defendant at least 60 days in advance, which can extend the deadline by 120 days. The complaint must also include a certificate of good faith under Tenn. Code Ann. 29-26-122, confirming a qualified medical reviewer has looked at the case. These requirements are technical and easy to get wrong, which is one reason to talk with a lawyer early, even before you are ready to file anything.

Frequently Asked Questions

What drug was involved in the Ascension Saint Thomas incident?

Glenda Dorton’s family told news outlets she was supposed to receive Bupivacaine for an epidural and was given potassium chloride instead. The hospital has not publicly confirmed the specific medications or what caused the error, and reports have not established whether all four patients received the same drug.

How many patients were affected?

Ascension Saint Thomas confirmed that four patients were affected by the event. All four were reported to have had joint replacement surgeries at the Midtown hospital on August 14, 2026. The hospital has not released the condition of the other three patients.

Can more than one party be held responsible?

Yes. A drug passes through a chain, and every link has a duty, including the prescriber, the dispensing pharmacy, any compounding or outsourcing facility, the person who administered it, and the hospital whose systems either caught the error or did not.

What does it cost to talk with a lawyer?

We review these cases at no charge and handle them on a contingency fee, which means there is no attorney’s fee unless we recover money for you. If we do not think you have a case, we will tell you.

If Your Family Was Affected, Get Answers Early

If you or a family member was one of the patients treated at Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital Midtown, or you were harmed by a medication error at another Nashville hospital, surgery center, or clinic, we will review your situation. The sooner records are requested and preserved, the more a family can prove later.

Request a free case review. There is no fee unless we recover money for you.

The Higgins Firm handles serious injury and wrongful death cases in Nashville and across Tennessee, including medication errors, pharmacy errors, hospital negligence, and nursing home neglect.

Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome. Every case depends on its own facts. This article reports on publicly available news accounts and general Tennessee law as of the publish date, and it is attorney advertising, not legal advice about your situation. The reported facts describe allegations and information provided by the affected family and news outlets. No fault has been established, and no attorney-client relationship is created by reading this.