Alabama Supreme Court Rejects DCH's Appeal In Ada Doss Wrongful Death Lawsuit

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The Alabama Supreme Court has rejected an attempt by the DCH Health Care Authority to overturn a Tuscaloosa County judge's ruling allowing wrongful death claims against the hospital system to move forward in a lawsuit filed by the family of Ada Doss.

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In an order issued Wednesday, the state's highest court denied DCH's petition for a writ of mandamus directed at Tuscaloosa County Circuit Judge Corey G. Seale.

The case stems from a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Andrew Doss, the husband of the slain nurse and personal representative of his wife's estate.

Defendants on the lawsuit are DCH, Universal Protection Service LLC, doing business as Allied Universal Security Services, and Matthew Taylor.

As Patch previously reported, Doss was fatally shot by Taylor during an attempted robbery on May 12 in the parking lot of DCH Regional Medical Center, where she worked as a nurse.

The mother of two was 27 years old.

Taylor was subsequently charged with capital murder in the hours after the shooting and is still undergoing evaluations to determine his competency to stand trial.

ALSO READ: DCH Releases Detailed Timeline Of Events Leading Up To Fatal Shooting Of Ada Doss

At issue in DCH's appeal in the civil case is whether the claims against the health care authority should be barred because workers' compensation benefits provided the family's exclusive remedy.

DCH had argued before Judge Seale that the allegations in the lawsuit established that the Doss family was limited to workers' compensation benefits and could not pursue wrongful death claims against the health care authority.

Judge Seale rejected that argument, prompting DCH to file its petition with the Alabama Supreme Court on July 30 seeking to have the trial court's decision reversed.

Alabama Chief Justice Sarah Stewart and Justices Greg Shaw, Michael Wise, Will Sellers, Jay Mitchell Cook, Tommy Bryan, Brady Mendheim McCool and Greg Parker concurred in denying the petition.

Tuscaloosa's Paul Patterson, an attorney representing the Doss estate along with his son, North Patterson, told Patch the ruling was a step in the right direction in the legal process for the grieving family.

"The Alabama Supreme Court rejected DCH's attempt to reverse Judge Corey Seale's order dismissing them from the case," Patterson said. "DCH had previously argued before Judge Seale that the Doss family was only entitled to workers comp benefits and could not be sued for the wrongful death of Ada Doss."

Patterson said the ruling means DCH has not established at this stage of the litigation that workers' compensation is the family's exclusive remedy.

"Clearly, this is a victory for the Doss family as the court has upheld Judge Seale's order," Patterson said. "We look forward to continuing our fight for justice on behalf of Drew Doss and his daughters."

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