Wife of China Spring softball coach files wrongful death lawsuit against Baylor Scott & White Hillcrest

WACO, Texas (KWTX) – The wife of a former coach who was well-known in the China Spring softball community has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against a Waco hospital, two doctors and a nurse.

Brittany Cloud, the widow of Johnny Cloud and the mother of his three daughters, is seeking more than $1 million in damages from her lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Waco’s 414^th State District Court.

The lawsuit names as defendants Scott & White Memorial Hospital, doing business as Baylor Scott & White Clinic Waco; Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Hillcrest; and Dr. Sean Delue, Dr. Gregory Dursteler and nurse Amber Renee Wilson.

Megan Snipes, a spokeswoman for Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Hillcrest, said Friday that the hospital has not received the lawsuit and declined comment.

Cloud was 50 years old when he died Oct. 3, 2024, from a pulmonary embolism, a blood clot that blocks blood flow to an artery in the lungs.

The lawsuit alleges hospital officials failed to properly test Cloud for signs of the embolism and calls his death “the tragic culmination of a series of preventable missteps by the BSW staff.”

The suit outlines Cloud’s deteriorating symptoms, beginning on Sept. 10, 2024, when he went to the Waco clinic complaining of a cough, congestion, headache and a sore throat. He was diagnosed with a viral upper respiratory infection and COVID-19 and prescribed a five-day course of medication.

His symptoms initially got better, but they soon got worse, according to the lawsuit. On the morning of Sept. 24, 2024, Brittany Cloud messaged Baylor Scott & White officials that Cloud had been coughing up small amounts of blood. She asked if he should be evaluated for pneumonia or other ailments.

Cloud said he felt bad, still had a bad cough and chest tightness and asked to be seen by a physician.

He went in later that day and told doctors he had been coughing up blood and had “progressive shortness of breath,” the lawsuit states.

Despite noting Cloud’s low blood oxygen levels and other “recognized clinical indicators for possible pulmonary embolism in a COVID-19 patient, the lawsuit alleges Dr. Delue did not order what Cloud’s attorneys suggest could have been a variety of tests “directed at ruling out pulmonary embolism.”

The doctor prescribed two types of medication and sent him home, the lawsuit alleges.

Records from Cloud’s trip to the Waco clinic in January 2024 showed he had a history of “venous insufficiency,” or damaged leg vein valves that can cause leg swelling and pain.

That notation in the records plus results from his Sept. 25 visit “means Mr. Cloud was at significant risk of developing a pulmonary embolism,” the lawsuit alleges.

Five days later, Britany Cloud messaged BSW officials that Cloud was still having “significant shortness of breath and a heavy feeling in his chest.”

“She described him as ‘feeling pretty miserable’ and ‘still hacking stuff up pretty frequently,’” the lawsuit states. The nursing staff scheduled an appointment for that same day.

Cloud’s symptoms were documented then as an upper respiratory infection, ongoing pain all over his body, still ongoing cough and a runny nose. But he also had “pitting edema (swelling) in both the right and left lower legs, a new and significant clinical finding,” the lawsuit alleges.

Cloud was prescribed medication and told to return if symptoms worsened or failed to improve. The lawsuit claims no “D-dimer,” a blood test used to determine if a patient has serious clotting conditions, and no “workup for pulmonary embolism” were performed.

On Oct. 1, Brittany Cloud messaged the BSW patient portal, saying her husband’s shortness of breath and lightheadedness remained significant and telling officials that an echocardiogram had still not been scheduled.

The following day, she messaged BSW again, telling them her husband was not getting any better and wondering if the “emergency department might be a better option.” A physicians’ assistant responded that if medication was not working and he wasn’t feeling better, the emergency department might be the best option.“They would be able to get the echo and needed workup in an expedited manner,” the lawsuit said, quoting the assistant. “I was hoping they would schedule that yesterday but am unsure of why they are delayed.”

An emergency room physician evaluated Cloud and, after testing, “scored Mr. Cloud as high risk,” according to the lawsuit.

Cloud was diagnosed with a variety of serious conditions, including bilateral pulmonary embolism, acute hypoxic respiratory failure and diastolic congestive heart failure. Cloud was admitted to the progressive care unit under Dursteler’s care, the lawsuit alleges.

“Despite the evidence that Mr. Cloud would benefit from ICU admission, Dr. Dursteler placed him instead in a progressive care unit, a step-down environment with less intensive monitoring and slower response capability,” the lawsuit claims.

The lawsuit alleges that Wilson, a nurse, failed to call a physician “and instead left to get a throat lozenge” after Cloud worsened and his blood pressure plummeted. He died a short time later, the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit claims hospital officials failed to adequately treat, diagnose and asses Cloud for the possible development of a pulmonary embolism, despite his “significant risk” of developing one, and failed to admit him to the intensive care unit, rather than the progressive care unit, among other allegations.