A Jackson doctor and North Jackson Medical Clinic are trying to move a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the children of deceased Mayor Chokwe Lumumba, Sr. out of the Jackson metro area. Chokwe Antar Lumumba, Jr. filed a wrongful death action against St. Dominic Hospital, North Jackson Medical Clinic, and several doctors in February in Hinds County Circuit Court. Attorneys Dennis Sweet, III and Dennis Sweet, IV are representing Mr. Lumumba. The case is assigned to Judge Winston Kidd.
Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba died on February 25, 2014. The complaint states that the Mayor checked into St. Dominic's emergency room at 9:00 AM. He allegedly complained of chest pains and said he thought he was having a heart attack. The complaint also states that Mr. Lumumba had previously been a patient at the hospital and "was a high risk candidate for a heart attack." Mayor Lumumba passed away at 5:00 PM. Young Lumumba charges the doctors did not his medical records "from previous visits to St. Dominic's Hospital, failed to check for an aortic aneurysm, and failed to conduct any test to diagnose for a heart attack". The complaint blames the hospital and attending physicians for his death. It names St. Dominic Hospital, North Jackson Medical Clinic, Dr. Heather Evans, and Dr. Nurudeen Shekoni as defendants. Earlier post and copy of lawsuit.
The lawsuit charges the defendants with gross negligence, negligence, medical malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty, reckless disregard for human life, statutory survival claim, statutory wrongful death and claim. Mr. Lumumba seeks compensatory and punitive damages.
The motion states:
Mayor Lumumba was, and is, an undeniably high-profile public figure in the city. Additionally, in the 2014 special election to fill the remainder of Mayor Lumumba’s four-year term, Plaintiff himself was a mayoral candidate who received extensive media coverage. Plaintiff has already declared his candidacy for mayor in the regular election scheduled for 2017. He remains a well-known community activist and is a high-profile public figure in his own right.Attorneys Walter Johnson, Susan Steffey, and W. Orlanksy of Watkins Eager represent North Jackson Medical Clinic and Dr. Shekoni.
Accordingly, Dr. Shekoni moves this Court to transfer venue in this action. Not only does Plaintiff enjoy a significant degree of local fame in Hinds County as a respected public personality and current mayoral candidate, but Mayor Lumumba himself remains a revered figure among a large portion of the potential Hinds County jury pool. Equally important, the circumstances surrounding Mayor Lumumba’s death received tremendous local media coverage at the time. To ensure a fair trial, venue should be transferred to a county either on the Mississippi Gulf Coast or in the area bordering Tennessee....
In addition to Mayor Lumumba’s prominence, Plaintiff and the mayor’s namesake, Chokwe Antar Lumumba, enjoys considerable community prominence as well. Before Mayor Lumumba’s passing, Plaintiff was the campaign spokesman for his father and was covered and followed by the media before his own run for mayor. (Exhibit 4.) After Mayor Lumumba’s death, Plaintiff delivered a “barn-burning” eulogy that was generously covered by the media. (Exhibit 5.) Plaintiff is repeatedly lauded as the heir apparent for fulfilling his father’s dreams and ambitions. Indeed, Plaintiff is following in his father’s footsteps as an activist and community leader. Despite his young age, Plaintiff was a mayoral candidate himself after his father died. He won the primary election, but lost in a close run-off election...
Most recently, and since the filing of this lawsuit, Plaintiff has again declared his candidacy for Mayor of Jackson in the upcoming 2017 election—a decision that will keep him consistently in the public eye until at least the spring of 2017...
Update: Dr. Evans filed a motion for joinder on the motion to transfer venue.
24 comments:
Even a non-medical person knows that Mayor Chokwe Lumumba was a very sick person who should never have run for office. He could not even stand alone the night he was elected and that he lived for eight months is surprising. This is a money-grab, pure and simple. Of course Junior (or Antar) wants it moved out of the city where he wants to run for Mayor. Greed would not appeal to the majority of the voters. Profiting from one's fathers natural death is appalling.
Looks like the silk stocking defense bar still knows how to use the [late] Gene Tullos "unfair venue" tactic. Hey, guys, Smith County is now safe.
Here's to hoping for a settlement, right? I wonder if the funds will help go to furthering their KUSH agenda? #whokiltdamayah
Seems to me that if during the eight hours he was in the ER, they conducted 'no tests' to determine if he had had a heart attack, the Sweets will prevail.
If he was in an ER, any ER, with any symptom of a heart attack, he would have been on a cardiac monitor. Even when I was in St. D ER with a cut that needed sutures, I was on a heart monitor. That right there is a "test" for a heart attack.
8:11 and 8:30 - you both hit the nail on the head - it's a money grab....
Do you really think that St. D had this guy sitting in their emergency department complaining of chest pains, and they did nothing? Also was it an aortic aneurysm or a heart attack? Sweet does not seem to know. Typical B.S. Always someone else's fault. Maybe he was just in poor health, under terrible stress, and died.
I can understand why the family would file a wrongful death lawsuit against St. "D". They are the most incompetent hospital in Mississippi. We took my mother-in-law there for a stroke and they almost killed her. There was not one department that did not screw up, from blood work to x-ray---wow what a bunch of idiots.
I hope Dennis cleans St. "D" out and by the way, I'M WHITE !!!!!
I had a heart attack in 2005 and went to St. "D" and they did 3 examinations and EKG's on me and said I was not having a heart attack, the pain was very bad and I was sent home---it got worse 5 hours later and I returned to St. "D" and was told that I had had a heart attack. WOW, GO DENNIS !!!!!!!!!!! I'M STILL WHITE !!!!
10:01 = 10:14
why is "D" in quotation marks?
Anyone who thinks St. D is the worst hospital in the state has never been to Forrest General.
This is a pure and simple money grab. There is no way that the late Mayor was going to live very long. I met him a few weeks before his death - having never seen him before. To a person, those with me agreed that, though it wasn't public, the man was obviously dying from something. He looked extremely unwell.
Hospitals are dangerous places. Lots of people die there.
Typical white southerner comments (except one). Never willing to face THE TRUTH OF YOUR LYING HISTORY. It's NOT Antar Lumumba that wants the case moved, it's the hospital. You won't acknowledge racial profiling despite every stat that shows it. You won't acknowledge a difference in treatment by the police, experimentATION done on Black People for hundreds of years by the medical community, desperate treatment in hospital care. Why? Because you've NEVER lived it and refuse to hear the voices of people who have.
either you're just a blatant racist or ignorant, uninformed. Whichever the case, why don't you just go sit down. If. ST Dominic can prove him wrong in court I'll buy y The one thing you white males DO know something about is GREED but you should NEVER CAST THE FIRST STONE. YOUVE GOT THAT CHARACTERISTIC LOCKED UP!!
What do you know? 3:47 is right. The headline actually says "Defendants" want to move lawsuit.
And if you look at the actual motion posted, it says so as well.
Well, though it is requested by St. Dominic's, I still say the whole thing is a money grab and I am not a white male. Mayor Lumumba was a very sick man and it showed even when just a member of the City Council. Greed is not limited to the white race, that is for sure good buddy.
Exactly, when did Lumumba exhibit signs of being a very sick man on the Jackson City Council and as mayor?
You can review the Council Meetings on tape if you want to try and pin down dates. One of his political operatives commented that he took his chemo often at the same time as Mary Coleman. Check it out. People at UMC commented on his conditionl. This will all come out at a trial. Wait and see.
I hope that St. Dominic is able to get the case moved because the only judge who seems to fall for Dennis Sweet's BS is Winston Kidd. The quack doctor that he paid off was his frat brother, William Truly, also a flunky for Barbara and Ed Blackmon. If the case gets moved to Oxford or Aberdeen, Dennis Sweet doesn't stand a chance. I'm a black woman, and I'm sick of Dennis Sweet's corrupt ass filing bogus lawsuits. He and the lawyers who work for him are incompetent. He fired Terris Harris and William Roland. They both were incompetent and that's why they have multiple legal malpractice lawsuits and bar complaints filed against them. Hopefully, St. Dominic prevails and the judge dismisses the lawsuit.
The man was sick. He died of that sickness. He was being treated for his sickness. It would seem like the family is more to blame for his death than the hospital and doctors who tried to help him.
TO: 9:01
I'm still WHITE responds---I experienced St. D's lack of professionalism first hand and so did my mother-in-law. They could have killed me and her. I am not a fan of Dennis and his crew but right is right. Most of the employees at St. D are black and the Hospitalist is black---do you think they were trying to kill us since we were white or are they just that stupid. St. D deserves what ever they get !!!!!
@ 9:38 AM, you should review the complaint that was filed by Dennis Sweet on behalf of Lumumba's family. Kingfish posted it to this site in February and if you google it, you can review the document that way. Within the complaint, Sweet kept saying "tests" were not performed. He also kept using the terms heart attack and aneurysm synonymously. However, those are 2 different illnesses that affect two different body systems. Aneurysms affect the neurological system and heart attacks affect the cardiovascular system. Sweet seemed confused by this based upon the formal complaint that he filed. There are specific tests for determining a heart attack, but ultimately the definitive way to diagnose a heart attack is through cardiac landmarkers AKA troponins. A 12 lead EKG is also essential for determining a heart attack. According to laws and guidelines identified by the MS State Board of Medicine and the MS Board of Nursing, the only qualified medical experts to interpret an EKG is a cardiologist or radiologist. A neurologist would be the appropriate medical expert for treating aneurysms. That (aneurysms) would not fall under the care of a cardiologist. Before Sweet drafted the complaint, he should have reviewed the death certificate for cause(s) of death and then consulted a medical expert for assistance with drafting the complaint so that it would be clear and concise.
Do you people realize how much it costs to try a medical malpractice case in Mississippi? This will cost the Sweet law firm well over $100,000, win or lose. He will have to hire numerous experts and take tons of depositions. Most lawyers will not take a medical malpractice case because of the costs and the crazy tort reforms in this state. So I'm sure that Mr. Sweet has read all the medical records thoroughly. Attorneys don't file lawsuits when they think they are going to lose; it costs too much money.
First and foremost Dr. Shekoni is not an ER doctor. For him to have been contacted by the hospital he must have been his current physician. However with that being said if you check in through the emergency department you are under the care of the "Emergency" department. It is for said department to get you out of an emergency situation and then and only once you are diagnosed are you released to your doctor. And you mean to tell me the mayor didn't get assistance. I can understand the feelings of the mayors family but they should research the policies and procedures of the hospital first because I have no doubt of the lawsuit itself but just where the blame is. So with that being said why is Dr. Shekoni and North Jackson medical clinic which is in no way affiliated with the hospital being sued. I am a longtime patient of Dr. Shekoni and he is my grandads physician who is on a home ventilator. I can honestly say he has been and still is a blessing to many people. If you contact him with any issues that are or seem to be an emergency he always advise that you seek immediate attention at your nearest ER and also ask that you let the ER doctor know to contact him with an update. The ER department is responsible for the patient until the patient is admitted to their primary physician. Might I also add that Dr. Shekoni holds the hands of the sick, prays for the patient and their loved ones, and will consult with a team of his colleagues to assist his patients with their medical needs. To know him is to love and adore him. ENMBerry
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