Bibb County jury awards family $40M in wrongful death lawsuit against Navicent, others

A Bibb County jury awarded the family of an Americus woman who died in 2017 $40 million Thursday in a state court lawsuit against Atrium Health Navicent and other parties, court documents show.

Nykevia Sanford, 25, died from cardiac arrest, organ failure and sickle cell crises. Her parents, Willie Sanford and Yolynda Gardner-Sanford, sued the Medical Center of Central Georgia (now Atrium Health Navicent, the Medical Center) and the medical center in Americus for administrative negligence in her death.

Sanford visited the Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus two days prior to her death with complications from sickle cell disease, according to court documents. After leaving and returning multiple times, doctors eventually decided she should be transported to Macon for an important blood transfusion.

Sanford was taken to Macon by helicopter, but it was determined soon after that MCCG could not perform the transfusion. Sanford then died while she was being taken to Grady Hospital in Atlanta by ambulance.

The jury found Navicent 50% liable in the case, according to court documents. A doctor and nurse practitioner from the Phoebe Physician Group were held liable for 30% and 20% of the case each.

This story was originally published June 23, 2023 at 5:12 PM.