Evening star., 1935-02-17
HELD
INPATIENT DEATH
Wrong Label May Have Led
to Poison Injection at
G. w. U. Hospital.

A District grand jury will decide
! whether Miss Blannie Bennett, "a,
registered pharmacist at the George
Washington University Hospital, must
stand trial for manslaughter as the
result of the death last Tuesday of
Mrs. Ruth Loomis, %, of formalde-
hyde poisoning.
Mrs. Loomis, it was testified at a
coroner's inquest yesterday. died in
the maternity section Of the hospital
nine days after her baby was born.
| apparently as the result OF injections
of formaldehyde solution. mis-
| takenly administered as paraldehyde,
prescribed for an anesthetic in
childbirth. Mrs. Loomis. who lived
at 1875 p street, was the wife of
Charles N. Loomis. an agricultural
economist in the farm economics
division of the Agricultural Adjust
ment Administration
Second Case Reported.
Shortly after the coroner's jury
returned the verdict directing that
Miss Bennett be held it was disclosed
that Mrs. Cecilia Hollander, another
patient in the same section of the
hospital, was suffering from what
physicians said was the same poison
ing. Mrs. Hollander was declared out
of danger last night.
At the inquest, conducted by DR.. A.
Magruder Macdonald, coroner, Miss
| Helen Cartwright, the hospital ward
supervisor, and other witnesses testi-
fled that Miss Bennett had filled an
almost empty bottle labeled parable
hyde in which DR.. John B. Reed, Dis
trict chemist, reported he found a
mixture of paraldehyde and formal
dehyde, with the formaldehyde pre-
dominating.
DR.. Reed also produced an exhibit
from the post -mortem which he said
showed signs of formaldehyde.
Miss Bennett. warned that her testi-
mony might latel be used against her,
testified she filed the bottle handed
to her by Miss CortWright from FIVE
pound bottle which bore a parable
hyde label.
She said the paraldehyde was in a
flve-pound bottle and the formalde-
hyde was in a five-gallon bottle. She
said, however, that the five-pound bot
tie from which she poured the solu-
ton was new and bore a parable
hyde label.
Testifies to Prescription.
DR.. Howard P. Parker, Mrs. Loomis'
physician, testified that he prescribed
the injection of paraldehyde and alco-
hol benZyl for the anesthetic in child
birth.
He said Mrs. Loomis complained of
severe pains and discomfort following
the first injection, but that he did not
suspect that paraldehyde had been
replaced by formaldehyde in the solu-
ton until Miss Cartwright called his
attention to the peculiar odor Of it
after the third injection had been ad-
ministered. He Immediately admin
istered antidotes, he said, but his pa
tient steadily grew worse until her
death.
DR.. Howard F. Kane, associate of
DR.. Parker, testified that he asked
DR.. Roger M. Choisser, pathologist at
the hospital, or one of his assistants.
to keep everything as it was until
he had notified the coroner.
DR.. Choisser testified he performed
an autopsy soon after the death of
Mrs. Loomis at the request Of hos
pital authorities. Asked if he was
given history of the case before the
operation, he said he had heard q
lot of rumors for an hour before the
autopsy" Coroner Macdonald asked
him If this case history contained any
information that was unusual. He
replied that it did not He said he
had heard "rumors" that the patient
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