A wrongful death lawsuit claims a patient roamed armed and unmonitored for hours before the killing
TUSCALOOSA, AL – A 27-year-old nurse was shot and killed outside a Tuscaloosa hospital while speaking on the phone with her husband, according to a newly filed lawsuit that alleges critical security failures allowed an armed patient to move freely across the facility.
Ada Chapman Doss had just finished her shift at DCH Regional Medical Center on May 12 and was walking to the south parking lot when she was approached by 41-year-old Matthew Taylor, the complaint states. Moments before she was shot, her husband, Andrew Doss, was on the phone with her and heard the encounter unfold.
“As customary, she called her husband to discuss their respective [work] days, dinner plans and evening routines for their 6-month-old and two-year-old daughters,” the lawsuit states.
Allegations of unmonitored patient movement
The lawsuit claims Taylor had been brought into the hospital’s emergency room earlier that day by someone “complaining of a manic episode,” and that hospital staff and security were warned about his behavior. Despite that, the complaint alleges Taylor was allowed to leave the emergency area and move throughout the campus without supervision.
“Unbeknownst to” Doss, Taylor had been inside the hospital earlier in the day, the complaint states, adding that staff “failed to assess the security threat and act to locate Taylor.” It further alleges he was able to “roam freely” around the medical center “unmonitored for hours.”
According to the filing, no one intervened even though Taylor was “shirtless, shoeless and armed.” The lawsuit does not specify where the weapon came from.
Final moments described in complaint
The complaint details the final moments before the shooting, describing how Doss encountered Taylor while walking to her vehicle.
“That afternoon, as she was walking to her vehicle located in the DCH South parking lot, and speaking to her husband by phone, Ada Doss’ voice filled with fear and panic as Taylor approached her armed with a gun,” the lawsuit states. “Tragically, Ada’s husband, Andrew Doss, was forced to endure hearing his wife’s last words of, ‘please don’t, I have babies’, seconds before Taylor shot and killed Ada.”
The lawsuit names Taylor and the DCH Health Care Authority among the defendants and alleges wrongful death and negligence. Doss’ husband and her estate are seeking compensatory and punitive damages, along with a jury trial.
Taylor was later arrested and indicted on charges of capital murder, first-degree robbery, and illegal possession of a firearm, according to reporting by WVTM.
DCH Regional Medical Center has not publicly detailed its response to the allegations outlined in the complaint.
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