Sanford v. Commonwealth Of Virginia

687 F. Supp. 2d 591 (2009)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P was 40 years of age, five feet five inches tall, weighed 150 pounds, and was mentally and physically disabled. P was suffering from Biemond's Syndrome, a neurological condition which included cerebellar damage and ataxia (a severe loss of muscular coordination). P's head and body shook almost continuously and, at times, rather violently. He was able to walk only with the assistance of a 'walker,' and he wore leg braces which extended from knee to foot. P was a patient in the Medical College of Virginia Main Hospital. P was recovering from surgery, in which his kidney was removed. P became delirious as a consequence of the medications he had been prescribed and administered by the MCV medical defendants. The nursing defendants summoned the VCUPD officers and the security guard to the scene. Lancaster and Officer Bailey of the VCUPD responded and P him to the ground, put his hands behind his back, handcuffed him with him metal handcuffs and held him prone. P was kept in that position for approximately thirty minutes. During that time, one or more of the nursing defendants injected him with Haldol, a sedative. After he had been laying handcuffed and prone for approximately thirty minutes, the VCUPD officers and the nursing staff turned P over and discovered that he was dead. P’s estate filed suit against a number of medical personnel employed by the Hospital, a security guard at the Hospital and a number of police officers who are members of the Virginia Commonwealth University Police Department (VCUPD). The same lawyer represents all of the VCUPD officer defendants and Colonel Fuller. Another lawyer represents security guard Lancaster and all of the other MCV employees who are either doctors or nurses. Each lawyer representing each set of defendants has multiple clients. There was conflicting information and various theories of culpability among both the group of MCV employee defendants and among the group of police officer defendants. Ps moved to disqualify the lawyers involved.