Roanoke Radio: Personality's Children Sue Over His Death

Seth Williamson

The children of the late WVTF 89.1 FM in Roanoke, VA radio personality Seth Williamson say in a lawsuit that he died from an overdose of painkillers after surgery and seek $10 million from a medical device maker and its former parent company .

According to roanoke.com, the lawsuit, filed Nov. 19 in federal court in Roanoke, said a medication pump used to assist Williamson was faulty in that hospital nurses could become confused while setting the device.

While experiencing pain after hernia repair at LewisGale Hospital Montgomery in Blacksburg, Williamson received analgesic medicine at five times the strength prescribed by his doctor, the lawsuit said.

The 62-year-old Blacksburg man died a short time later at the hospital of a “massive” overdose, the lawsuit said.

Named as defendants are Hospira Inc. of Lake Forest, Ill., which the lawsuit said brought the pump to market, and Abbott Laboratories Inc. based north of Chicago, which the suit said once owned Hospira. Neither company had a comment Wednesday.