Ballad Health faces lawsuit filed on behalf of former sheriff’s widow

A recently filed federal lawsuit alleges Ballad Health and its doctors provided improper care to then-Johnson County Sheriff Eddie Tester August 8-10 2023 which they allege led to a fatal heart attack on August 11, 2023. The complaint filed on behalf of Brenda Tester, Tester’s widow, seeks $7.5 million in damages and also lists the Tennessee Department of Health and Commissioner Dr. Ralph Alvarado as defendants. The suit also seeks a declaratory judgment that the Certificate of Public Advantage or (COPA) under which Ballad operates is unconstitutional.
The suit alleges that doctors performed an ill-advised liver biopsy on Tester while he was on blood thinners administered at Sycamore Shoals Hospital on August 8, then sent to Johnson city for a liver biopsy on Aug. 10, and that resulted in the August 11 fatal cardiac arrest. Ballad officials declined to comment but did say the organization does not comment on pending litigation.