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The wife of a Blount County man who died in September 2007 has filed suit against Blount Memorial Hospital, claiming negligent actions on the part of the hospital were responsible for his death.

Carolyn Coatney filed the wrongful death suit Wednesday in Blount County Circuit Court on behalf of herself and Cledith Ronnie Boone, who, according to the suit, died while at Blount Memorial Hospital on Sept. 23, 2007.

The suit alleges Boone was admitted to the hospital on Sept. 17, 2007, with a small bowel obstruction that was repaired by surgery on Sept. 18. The next day, Boone developed heart problems and was placed in the Monitoring Intensive Care Unit (MICU) at Blount Memorial, the suit said.

On Sept. 23, Boone's condition worsened and while the MICU continued to monitor him, "For some inexplicable reason, on Sept. 23, no vital signs were recorded after 7 p.m." the suit alleged. "... The vital signs of his condition were not available to the staff due to their own negligence and failure to follow appropriate protocol."

The suit goes on to claim that staff at Blount Memorial Hospital called Boone's family members to ask for help in monitoring his condition.

"Additionally the staff admitted that they had insufficient staff to observe and care for (Boone)," the suit said. "They explained their shortness of staff and called the family to help them, which the family did."

But at some point before Boone's family arrived at the hospital, he died, and his wife was the one who found him unresponsive in his room and alerted the staff, the suit claims.

"Due to the staff's negligence in keeping the monitoring devices in place, no warning was given of imminent problems ... (and) there was no way for anyone to be alerted and no way to come to his aid in a timely manner," the suit said.

When Coatney found Boone in his room, "she promptly notified the staff. Belated resuscitation was attempted to no avail."

When contacted by The Daily Times Wednesday, a representative of Blount Memorial Hospital said it was hospital policy not to comment on pending legal matters.

The suit filed Wednesday does not seek a specific monetary amount in damages, but seeks "compensation for injuries and (the) wrongful death" of Boone "in an amount not to exceed the maximum allowed by law."

No response to the suit had been filed on behalf of Blount Memorial Hospital as of Wednesday.