The family of Gary York Kirkman, the patient killed in an April 14 golf cart accident at Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, plans to take legal action against the hospital.
Mr. Kirkman, 87, and his wife Ruth Kirkman were visiting the hospital for a routine appointment, their son Timothy Kirkman told the Winston-Salem Journal. The couple was sitting on a bench when the golf cart crashed into them, breaking both of Mr. Kirkman's legs and injuring Ms. Kirkman.
Mr. Kirkman was taken to the emergency room to stop the bleeding and was admitted for surgery. He died from complications of his injuries two days later.
It is unclear why no one was in control of the golf cart or why it started moving, according to Timothy Kirkman, who heard the accident take place while waiting to pick up his parents.
"The cart was probably 20 feet away from where they were sitting on the bench," he told the Journal. "Mom said she saw it taking off, but she thought somebody was going to stop the thing. It was coming right at them. She just happened to move her legs out of the way so it wouldn't crush her legs."
The family is pursuing a wrongful death claim on behalf of Mr. Kirkman and a personal injury claim for Ms. Kirkman. Becker's has reached out to their attorney Adam Linett for comment.
"While we have every indication this was a tragic accident, we are conducting a thorough investigation to learn exactly how this occurred, and, most importantly, to ensure an event such as this does not happen again," a spokesperson for the hospital told Becker's on April 19.
The hospital has declined to comment further due to the ongoing investigation and federal privacy laws.