NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A Tennessee hospital is investigating a medication error involving four joint-replacement patients after the family of a 72-year-old woman said she was left paralyzed following what was expected to be routine knee surgery.
Glenda Dorton of Centerville underwent the procedure Aug. 14 at Ascension Saint Thomas Midtown in Nashville. Her daughter-in-law, Kristina Dorton, told The Tennessean and USA Today that potassium was injected in place of the anesthetic intended for an epidural before surgery. The family’s account has not yet been independently confirmed in a public regulatory report.
Kristina Dorton said the operation appeared to go well, but Glenda Dorton could not move or feel anything below her sternum when she woke in recovery. She was transferred to Ascension Saint Thomas West, placed on a ventilator and treated in intensive care. Her family said doctors drained spinal fluid and administered steroids in an effort to reduce the injury.
The ventilator was removed the next day, but Dorton still could not move her lower body or feel below her rib cage, according to the family. Hospital staff later told relatives she had T6 paralysis, a term referring to an injury around the sixth thoracic level of the spine.
Dr. Shubhada Jagasia, president and CEO of Ascension Saint Thomas Midtown, said the hospital had reported the event to state regulators and opened a thorough investigation. She said the hospital identified a cause and put corrective safeguards in place, but the statement did not describe the cause, the safeguards or the medical conditions of the other three patients, citing privacy requirements.
The family said staff told them three other joint-replacement patients were treated with affected vials before clinicians recognized similar complications and stopped surgeries. The hospital has not publicly confirmed that account in detail. No public evidence has suggested the event was intentional, and the family said it did not blame the physicians or bedside care team.
Medication errors can occur at several points, including ordering, compounding, labeling, dispensing and administration. Hospitals use barcode checks, standardized labels, separation of high-risk drugs and independent verification to reduce the chance that the wrong medication reaches a patient. A regulatory review can determine which control failed and whether system changes are sufficient.
The investigation remains active, and the full prognosis for Dorton has not been made public. Her family said it wants an explanation and safeguards that prevent another patient from experiencing the same harm. Readers should treat early descriptions of the cause as allegations attributed to the family until state regulators or the hospital release a final account.
Source: USA Today and The Tennessean, published Aug. 19, 2026. Additional verification: Ascension Saint Thomas statement reported by Axios Nashville.
