News

Indian Run Hospital – Catastrophic ‘Pharmacy Error’ Leaves Multiple Patients Paralyzed After Wrong Drug Injected Into Spines

August 24, 2026

Reported by: SlayNews

A Tennessee hospital has admitted that a catastrophic “pharmacy error” caused four patients undergoing routine joint-replacement surgery to be injected in the spine with the wrong drug, leaving them paralyzed.

Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital Midtown in Nashville confirmed that the patients received potassium phosphate instead of an anesthetic on August 14.

All four suffered serious adverse reactions.

One patient, 72-year-old Glenda Dorton, has reportedly been left paralyzed from the chest down, while another patient was placed on a ventilator.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and state health regulators have now opened investigations into how such a devastating mistake was allowed to happen.

Wrong Drug Sent Into Patients’ Spines

Ascension Saint Thomas said the error originated inside the hospital’s pharmacy.

According to the hospital, four patients undergoing joint replacements were supposed to receive mepivacaine as an anesthetic.

Instead, they were given potassium phosphate.

All four required immediate medical treatment after suffering adverse reactions.

Dorton’s family gave local reporters a slightly different account, saying she was supposed to receive bupivacaine during spinal anesthesia for a knee replacement but was instead given potassium.

The difference between the hospital’s identification of mepivacaine and the family’s reference to bupivacaine has not yet been publicly explained.

Both accounts agree on the central fact: a potassium compound was injected into the spinal space instead of the intended numbing medication.

Medical specialists have warned that potassium salts should never be administered into the spinal space because they can severely damage nerve tissue.

One surgeon who was not involved in the case described the effect as the drug essentially destroying the spinal cord.

Hospital CEO Issues Public Apology

Ascension Saint Thomas Midtown President and CEO Dr. Shubhada Jagasia publicly apologized for the disaster.

“Our hearts are with the four patients and their families impacted by this event,” Jagasia said in a statement shared with Becker’s Hospital Review.

“On behalf of our leadership and care teams, I am deeply sorry for the harm caused to our patients.”

The hospital said it reported the incident to state regulators and launched an internal investigation the same day.

The Tennessee Healthcare Facilities Commission notified the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation on the evening of Aug. 14.

The TBI subsequently opened its own investigation.

State officials are also examining complaints at the hospital and coordinating with the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Ascension said independent quality experts have been brought in to review the hospital’s response.

Multiple patients at a Nashville hospital are paralyzed after staff accidentally gave them the wrong drugs.

The hospital says they are "sorry" after injecting potassium chloride into the spines of people getting routine joint replacement surgeries.

Hospital staff noticed… pic.twitter.com/ZvzDgx2cdN

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) August 22, 2026

New Safety Measures Introduced After Disaster

The hospital says it has implemented additional safeguards following the error.

High-alert medications, including mepivacaine, are now being kept in separate and clearly marked storage areas.

Any alert generated while scanning spinal medications must also trigger a mandatory stop that can only be cleared through independent verification.

Ascension said a comprehensive review found that no patients beyond the four already identified were affected.

Woman Wakes Up Paralyzed

For Dorton’s family, however, the new safeguards came too late.

Her daughter-in-law, Kristina Dorton, said the 72-year-old woke from anesthesia suffering burning and itching before discovering she could no longer feel her legs.

Dorton remains in intensive care and has reportedly been diagnosed with paralysis extending from roughly the middle of her chest downward.

Her family said the knee replacement itself had been successful.

The devastation came afterward.

The hospital has declined to publicly discuss the medical conditions of the other three patients, citing privacy protections.

Families have said one of those patients required ventilation.

The full extent of the damage remains unclear as investigators continue examining how a routine hospital procedure ended with four patients receiving the wrong drug directly into their spines.

A surgery intended to restore mobility has instead left at least one woman without it, and investigators are now trying to determine exactly how a failure this severe made it through every layer of the hospital’s safety system.