Lawsuit Says Hospital Was Negligent in Patient Death

A 63-year-old Torrance man died of injuries after he was left unattended and fell out of a hospital bed after brain surgery at South Bay Hospital last February, his family has charged in connection with a lawsuit filed Wednesday.

The suit in Torrance Superior Court charges Dr. Melvin Snyder, South Bay Hospital and its parent company, American Medical International Inc., with negligence in the death of Donald Tomkinson.

Snyder could not be reached for comment. The hospital declined to comment.

Was Left Sitting Up

Tomkinson underwent surgery to remove a benign brain tumor Feb. 2 at the hospital in Redondo Beach, his daughter, Jacqueline Tomkinson, said in an interview Wednesday. He was recovering in South Bay Hospital’s intensive care unit two days later when he asked to be left alone to use a bedpan, she said.

A nurse told family members later that she left Tomkinson sitting up, with his legs hanging over the edge of the bed, and returned to find that he had fallen to the floor and hit his head, Jacqueline Tomkinson said.

“The nurse never should have let him sit there alone, unguarded,” Tomkinson said. “I said to them, ‘Who is running the show: the patient or the nurse who is on duty?’ ”

Tomkinson never regained consciousness and died Feb. 7 after life-support systems were removed, his daughter said.

Ruled an Accident

The family’s lawyer, Bruce Fagel, said the lawsuit will be amended to charge that hospital personnel tried to cover up their negligence by claiming that Tomkinson fell out of bed because he suffered a stroke.

Tomkinson’s death was ruled an accident after treatment for a tumor, said Bob Dambacher, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office.

Jacqueline Tomkinson said her mother, who is visiting relatives in England, had visited her father 10 minutes before the accident.

‘Anxious to Get Home’

“He was doing very well,” she said. “He was glad the surgery was over and he was anxious to get home and rest and recover at home.”

She said her father planned to return to work as an engineer after he recovered from surgery.