Gregory Turner was admitted to Kennestone Hospital (“Hospital”) where he was diagnosed with COVID-19 on November 7, 2021. As part of his treatment, he was prescribed anticoagulants, including the medication Heparin, on November 15, 2021. The medication was ordered at 7:53 a.m., and an infusion of Heparin began ten minutes later at 8:03 a.m. Due to COVID-related acute thrombosis in his lower limbs, he underwent a bilateral lower extremity surgical procedure that afternoon. The surgery was deemed a success by the surgical team.
Hospital staff failed to restart the Heparin infusion after Turner’s surgery. According to Turner, the staff discovered the oversight on the morning of November 16, 2021, at which time pulmonologist Vineet Reddy, M.D. ordered “high dose heparin” to be restarted, noted that Turner’s right lower extremity was “not salvageable,” and began to plan for an amputation of Turner’s right leg above the knee. Turner’s leg was amputated that same day.
On November 3, 2023, Turner filed his Georgia medical malpractice lawsuit, alleging medical negligence by the clinical staff at the Hospital, and imputed liability for the Hospital. Turner alleged that the Hospital staff was negligent for failing to: (a) be aware of the existing order for the Heparin infusion; (b) have procedures in place to ensure the nursing staff would carry out the medication orders; (c) adhere to the order for the Heparin infusion and start the infusion after the November 15 surgery; and (d) discover for over 12 hours that Heparin was not being administered as ordered. Turner alleged that as a result of this negligence, he sustained injuries including the loss of his right leg, pain and suffering, medical expenses, special damages such as lost wages, and permanent partial disability. The Hospital filed a motion to dismiss the complaint, asserting that it was immune from liability under the Georgia COVID-19 Pandemic Business Safety Act, OCGA§ 51-16-1 et seq. (“GCPBSA”) and the federal Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act, USC §§ 247d-6d, 247d-6e (“PREP Act”). As for the GCPBSA, the Hospital argued that the state law immunized it from Turner’s COVID-19 liability.
The Court of Appeals of Georgia stated in its March 14, 2025 decision, “the Hospital argues that Turner’s amended complaint did not state facts sufficient to support a claim for gross negligence such that it could overcome the immunity laid out in the GCPBSA. We agree … Gross negligence is defined as the failure to exercise that degree of care that every man of common sense, however inattentive he may be, exercises under the same or similar circumstances; or lack of the diligence that even careless men are accustomed to exercise. In other words, gross negligence has been defined as equivalent to the failure to exercise even a slight degree of care or lack of the diligence that even careless men are accustomed to exercise … “
“Here, Turner claims that he was injured as a result of Hospital personnel’s failure to restart his Heparin infusion for more than twelve hours following his leg surgery … we find Turner’s amended complaint to be lacking allegations sufficient to demonstrate the kind of actions that could constitute gross negligence by the Hospital personnel. Taking Turner’s allegations as true (as we must do at this stage of the proceedings), Hospital staff overlooked an order for an important medication, and restarted it upon discovery of the error. There is nothing in the complaint to support the theory that Hospital staff intentionally failed to treat Turner or ignored signs that his condition was deteriorating, or demonstrated an absence of any care or diligence … Turner alleges conduct that may constitute inattentiveness or negligence, but not that supports “that degree of care that every man of common sense, however inattentive he may be, exercises under the same or similar circumstances; or lack of the diligence that even careless men are accustomed to exercise.””
“In sum, the only support for Turner’s gross negligence (as opposed to negligence) claims are mere conclusory allegations. Accordingly, we find that Turner’s complaint shows with certainty that he would not be able to prevail given the immunity granted to medical institutions for COVID-19 claims under the GCPBSA. We therefore reverse the trial court’s denial of the Hospital’s motion to dismiss.”
A dissenting opinion stated: “as reflected in the amended complaint and accompanying expert affidavits, this case is about the failure to follow a physician’s unambiguous order to give a medication to a post-surgery patient and then not discover that failure for over 12 hours … the PREP Act does not provide immunity in cases such as the present one, where the allegation is that the defendant failed to administer or use a covered countermeasure.”
Source Kennestone Hospital, Inc. v. Turner, A24A1404.
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