Source: WLTX
In November 2004, the former sergeant went to the Eisenhower Army Medical Center at Fort Gordon near Augusta for a simple surgery to repair hernias. “When the surgeon went in, they punctured her liver,” Carter said.

He said the doctor’s failure to run pre-operative tests caused her to lose over half her body’s blood supply. She was in a coma for the next four months. “It’s basically a mistake that should have never been made,” said Tabitha, who was 15 years old at the time. From there, she watched her mother’s health slowly decline. “She was depressed, and she didn’t want to get out, didn’t want to go anywhere,” said Carter. “She just wanted to stay at home.”

“She felt like she was deprived of being a mother to me,” added Tabitha. In September 2005, the emotional and physical pain was too much for Patricia to bare. Inside her Lexington home, the 42-year-old doused herself with gasoline and set herself on fire. “I do believe that what happened at Ft. Gordon did lead to what eventually happened to my wife,” said Carter. “I hope they learn from it,” said Tabitha. “I really do. I hope they don’t repeat what they’ve done to other people.”

The multimillion-dollar lawsuit claiming medical malpractice and wrongful death was filed Tuesday. Attorneys are now awaiting a response from the U.S. government. They would not comment to News19 over the phone because the case is still under investigation. This is not the first medical malpractice suit against the hospital. The family and their attorney, Henry Garrard fear this won’t be the last if attention isn’t brought to the larger issue with military healthcare. “So from our own work that we have done, we don’t believe this is simply an isolated incident,” said Garrard. “And we have promised to deliver a quality of healthcare equal to what you and I might receive at a civilian facility and the concern that we have and the Bryants have is that our system is broken.”