VA Radio: Personality's Wrongful Death Suit To Continue

Seth Williamson

A judge has declined to dismiss a lawsuit claiming that a Roanoke public radio personality died from an overdose of painkillers administered by a faulty medication pump, according to Roanoke.com.

The decision by U.S. District Court Judge Michael Urbanski clears the way for a trial next month that could explore the medical device’s role in the death of Seth Williamson, who was the long-time host of several radio shows on WVTF 89.7 FM in Charlotesville..

Williamson died in 2011 after undergoing surgery for a hernia at LewisGale Hospital Montgomery. A lawsuit later filed by his family alleged that while in the hospital, Williamson received a fatal dose of Dilaudid, a potent painkiller, from a medication pump that was unnecessarily confusing to operate.

The products liability action seeks $10 million in damages. A trial date has been set for Jan. 12, according to Robert Hall, a Reston attorney who represents Williamson’s family.

Named as defendants are Hospira Inc. of Lake Forest, Illinois, the manufacturer of the pump, and Abbot Laboratories Inc., which the lawsuit said once owned Hospira.

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