Judge dismisses Ragsdale suit against doctors
By Erin Alberty
The Salt Lake Tribune
First published Feb 25 2011 07:01PM
Updated Feb 25, 2011 07:01PM
A judge has dismissed a lawsuit that claimed David Ragsdale's prescription medications contributed to him shooting his wife to death in a Lehi church parking lot in 2008.
The children of David and Kristy Ragsdale, through their conservator, had sued their father's doctor and nurse practitioner for prescribing antidepressants and other medications that allegedly carried risks of psychiatric complications. Third District Judge Denise Lindberg dismissed the case earlier this month, writing that the children could not pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit because they were not the patients.
"The Court is not persuaded that ... the non-patient plaintiffs may step into David Ragsdale's shoes to pursue a malpractice lawsuit," Lindberg wrote.
The Ragsdale children were 4 and 19 months old when David Ragsdale approached his wife, Kristy, in their church parking lot during Sunday meeting Jan. 6, 2008. He gunned down Kristy, 30, who had requested a restraining order against him.
In the months before the murder, his nurse practitioner, Trina West, prescribed a cocktail of steroids, antidepressants and other medications, the lawsuit claimed. Other drugs were added to the combination one month before the shooting at an appointment where David Ragsdale discussed his marital problems and the restraining order, the suit alleged.
Ragsdale, who pleaded guitly to first-degree felony aggravated murder, said he took full responsibility for his wife's death but would not have murdered her had he not been on medications.
His children's lawsuit sought damages from West, Ragsdale's physician Hugo Rodier and Pioneer Comprehensive Medical Clinic.
The clinic's attorney has said Ragsdale's care was "exceptional and appropriate," and other qualified health care providers would have made similar decisions.
Lindberg's decision does not address whether the medications played a role in the murder of Kristy Ragsdale.
David Ragsdale was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/51291409-76/ragsdale-david-lawsuit-medications.html.csp
By Erin Alberty
The Salt Lake Tribune
First published Feb 25 2011 07:01PM
Updated Feb 25, 2011 07:01PM
A judge has dismissed a lawsuit that claimed David Ragsdale's prescription medications contributed to him shooting his wife to death in a Lehi church parking lot in 2008.
The children of David and Kristy Ragsdale, through their conservator, had sued their father's doctor and nurse practitioner for prescribing antidepressants and other medications that allegedly carried risks of psychiatric complications. Third District Judge Denise Lindberg dismissed the case earlier this month, writing that the children could not pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit because they were not the patients.
"The Court is not persuaded that ... the non-patient plaintiffs may step into David Ragsdale's shoes to pursue a malpractice lawsuit," Lindberg wrote.
The Ragsdale children were 4 and 19 months old when David Ragsdale approached his wife, Kristy, in their church parking lot during Sunday meeting Jan. 6, 2008. He gunned down Kristy, 30, who had requested a restraining order against him.
In the months before the murder, his nurse practitioner, Trina West, prescribed a cocktail of steroids, antidepressants and other medications, the lawsuit claimed. Other drugs were added to the combination one month before the shooting at an appointment where David Ragsdale discussed his marital problems and the restraining order, the suit alleged.
Ragsdale, who pleaded guitly to first-degree felony aggravated murder, said he took full responsibility for his wife's death but would not have murdered her had he not been on medications.
His children's lawsuit sought damages from West, Ragsdale's physician Hugo Rodier and Pioneer Comprehensive Medical Clinic.
The clinic's attorney has said Ragsdale's care was "exceptional and appropriate," and other qualified health care providers would have made similar decisions.
Lindberg's decision does not address whether the medications played a role in the murder of Kristy Ragsdale.
David Ragsdale was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/51291409-76/ragsdale-david-lawsuit-medications.html.csp
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