Waffle House shooting victim's family sues VUMC, claims doctors made fatal mistake

The mother of one of the victims in the deadly mass shooting at an Antioch Waffle House is suing Vanderbilt University Medical Center, saying two doctors there made errors that killed her son.

Akilah DaSilva, 23, was one of four people killed after police say Travis Reinking opened fire on the Murfreesboro Pike restaurant with an AR-15 style rifle on April 22, 2018. 

DaSilva's autopsy lists his shooting wounds as the cause of death, but the latest lawsuit brought by his mother Shaundelle Brooks argues he was improperly treated after he was rushed to the Vanderbilt emergency room.

Hospital administrators rejected the allegations in the suit.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Davidson County Circuit Court, states two Vanderbilt doctors "placed the breathing tube in Mr. DaSilva’s esophagus" rather than the entrance to his lungs, "leading directly and promptly to significant injury and death."

The suit further claims that Vanderbilt "concealed or destroyed" an X-ray that proved the mistake. The suit says the medical center has refused to provide the X-ray to Brook's attorney Brian Manookian.

The lawsuit, which also lists the two doctors as defendants, asks for up to $80,000,000 in damages.

VUMC spokesman John Howser said the medical center would fight the lawsuit "vigorously."

“Our deepest sympathies are with the DaSilva family for their tragic loss. However, we absolutely disagree with the allegations in this lawsuit and intend to defend it vigorously. The Office of the Medical Examiner found that the cause of Mr. DaSilva’s death was the gunshot wounds he suffered,” Howser said in a statement.

“Mr. DaSilva received world class care from a highly accomplished trauma team. Unfortunately, many factors can impact a gunshot victim’s survival, including their condition before arrival at the ER, the caliber of the bullet and whether vital organs were hit. The allegations in the complaint are not true. Mr. DaSilva was not improperly intubated and VUMC has not concealed anything related to his care.”

Manookian filed a complaint with the Tennessee Department of Health related to DaSilva's care at Vanderbilt. Howser said department investigators had examined the case and had not found wrongdoing.

DaSilva's mother also has brought wrongful death suits against the city, because 911 dispatchers initially sent police to the wrong Waffle House, and against the shooting suspect and his father.

Travis Reinking, the suspect, is awaiting trial on four counts of first-degree murder.

Reach Adam Tamburin at 615-726-5986 and atamburin@tennessean.com. Follow him on Twitter @tamburintweets.