Southport Fire Chief Charles Drew Sues Novant Health Over Mother Juanita Jones’ Fatal Hospital Fall

Southport Fire Chief Charles Drew has filed a wrongful-death and medical-malpractice lawsuit against Novant Health and Dr. Jane Anne Shaw over the January 2025 death of his mother, Juanita Bowling Jones, 67.

This is an individual lawsuit, not a class action. There is no settlement fund, no claim form and no filing deadline for other Novant Health patients or families to join. The allegations below have not been proven in court.

The complaint alleges that Jones was known to be at high risk of falling, that fall precautions were not maintained, and that a brain bleed found after her fall worsened before she reached emergency surgery. She died on January 21, 2025.

Quick Facts: Charles Drew v. Novant Health

Detail	What is currently known
Plaintiff	Charles Drew, as administrator of the estate of Juanita Bowling Jones
Person who died	Juanita Bowling Jones, 67
Defendants	Novant Health entities, Novant Health Brunswick Medical Center, Novant’s transfer center and Dr. Jane Anne Shaw, per the reported complaint
Court	Brunswick County Superior Court, North Carolina
Case number	Not independently verified from the public court information reviewed
Lawsuit type	Medical malpractice and wrongful death
Hospital	Novant Health Brunswick Medical Center, Bolivia, North Carolina
Admission	January 16, 2025
Fatal fall	January 18, 2025
Death	January 21, 2025
Damages sought	More than $25,000 on each claim, plus punitive damages, per the reported complaint
Settlement	None reported
Public claim form	None
Class action	No

Verification note: North Carolina’s Judicial Branch says its eCourts Portal gives public access to civil case information but is not itself the official court record. The new filing could not be located in the public material reviewed, so this article does not publish an unverified case number or caption.

What Does Charles Drew’s Lawsuit Allege About Juanita Bowling Jones’ Fall at Novant Health Brunswick Medical Center?

According to the complaint as reported, Jones was admitted to Novant Health Brunswick Medical Center on January 16, 2025, with flu-like symptoms and decompensated heart failure.

The lawsuit alleges that on January 17, Drew told staff his mother was unsteady, had a history of falls and needed help getting out of bed. A nurse reportedly assured him that fall precautions, including a bed alarm, would be put in place.

The following night, Jones suffered an unwitnessed fall in a hospital bathroom and struck her head. She was taking daily aspirin and prescription blood thinners. The fall was recorded at about 10:26 p.m.

A CT scan roughly 35 minutes later allegedly showed a 4-millimeter subdural hematoma (bleeding between the brain and skull), flagged as critical.

What Does the Lawsuit Say Happened After Jones’ First CT Scan at Novant Health?

The complaint says Dr. Jane Anne Shaw consulted neurosurgery through Novant’s transfer center. The plan was to stop the blood thinners, monitor Jones’ neurological condition closely and repeat the CT scan six hours later.

The second scan allegedly showed the hematoma had grown from 4 millimeters to 6 millimeters. On the morning of January 19, Jones allegedly became confused, drowsy and slurred in her speech, with a severe headache and vomiting.

The lawsuit also alleges a certified nursing assistant repeatedly sought help, but the assigned nurse did not respond because she was caring for another patient. By about 9:30 a.m., Jones was unresponsive. Staff intubated her, and further imaging allegedly showed the hematoma had expanded and was displacing her brain.

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What Does the Lawsuit Say About Juanita Jones’ Emergency Transfer to Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center?

The complaint alleges Jones needed emergency neurosurgery at Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington. Poor visibility reportedly grounded the medical helicopter, so a ground critical-care ambulance was requested from Wilmington at about 11 a.m.

Jones reportedly arrived around 12:30 p.m. and underwent emergency brain surgery at about 1:44 p.m. She died two days later, on January 21, 2025. The lawsuit claims the delay in recognizing and responding to her decline contributed to her death.

What Does Charles Drew Allege Novant Health and Dr. Jane Anne Shaw Did Wrong?

The reported allegations are that the defendants:

• Failed to enforce fall precautions after identifying Jones as a fall risk
• Failed to adequately monitor her after the fall
• Failed to respond properly as her neurological condition worsened
• Failed to escalate treatment quickly enough after the second CT scan
• Failed to arrange an emergency transfer quickly enough
• Acted with gross negligence and reckless disregard

The estate seeks damages for medical expenses, pain and suffering and funeral expenses, plus punitive damages. The “more than $25,000 on each claim” figure is a pleading threshold, not a prediction of what the estate will recover. No judge or jury has determined liability or awarded money.

What Has Novant Health Said About Charles Drew’s Lawsuit?

Novant Health expressed condolences to the family but said it cannot disclose details of a patient’s care or discuss active litigation. There is currently no public Novant Health response addressing the specific medical allegations.

Is Charles Drew’s Novant Health Lawsuit a Class Action?

No. Drew sued as administrator of Juanita Bowling Jones’ estate over her care and the damages allegedly suffered by her estate and surviving family. No class has been proposed, so it is not a putative class action either.

Other patients treated at Novant Health Brunswick Medical Center do not automatically become plaintiffs or become entitled to money from this case. There is no administrator, claim form or deadline for unrelated patients.

Can Other Novant Health Patients Claim Money From Charles Drew’s Lawsuit?

No public claim process has been announced. Someone who believes a relative was harmed by medical negligence at a Novant Health facility would need to have those circumstances evaluated separately.

Two North Carolina rules are worth knowing:

• N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-21.11 defines a medical-malpractice action to include civil claims for personal injury or death arising from health-care services, and it expressly covers hospitals.
• N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-53(4) sets a two-year limitation period for wrongful-death actions. How it interacts with medical-malpractice rules depends on the facts, so anyone considering a claim should get legal advice promptly rather than assuming a simple two-year clock.

What Happens Next in Charles Drew v. Novant Health?

The case is at an early stage. Typical next steps:

1. Defendants’ response. Novant Health and Dr. Shaw will answer the complaint and may contest the allegations or file motions to dismiss or narrow claims.
2. Discovery. Both sides exchange medical records, staffing and scheduling information, internal communications and expert testimony on the standard of care and causation.
3. Rule 9(j) review. North Carolina Rule of Civil Procedure 9(j) generally requires a malpractice complaint to state that an appropriate expert reviewed the care and records and is willing to testify that the care fell below the standard, subject to stated exceptions.
4. Mediation, settlement or trial. Many malpractice cases settle or go to court-ordered mediation before trial.

No settlement or verdict has been reported.

What Should North Carolina Families Do If They Believe a Hospital Caused a Wrongful Death?

This lawsuit does not create a claim program, but it shows which records matter in an individual dispute. Families should preserve:

1. Hospital records: admission records, nursing notes, medication records, imaging reports and discharge or death records
2. CT scans and other imaging: the images themselves, not just the written reports
3. Medication information: doses and changes, especially blood thinners when falls or bleeding are involved
4. Communication records: messages, written complaints and notes of conversations with staff
5. A timeline: dates and approximate times of key events, written while memories are fresh
6. Death and funeral records: relevant to damages in a wrongful-death claim

A bad outcome alone does not prove malpractice. A claim generally requires evidence of the standard of care and causation.

For related background, see our guides Medical Malpractice Lawyer, Rights, Costs & How It Works and What Is A Wrongful Death Lawsuit? What You Must Know Before Filing, and our related hospital case coverage: Conor Hylton Lawsuit “Fake ICU” Telehealth Death Allegations.

Key Dates in the Juanita Bowling Jones Novant Health Case

Date	Event
January 16, 2025	Jones admitted to Novant Health Brunswick Medical Center, per the lawsuit
January 17, 2025	Drew allegedly warned staff his mother was unsteady with a history of falls
January 18, 2025	Unwitnessed bathroom fall at about 10:26 p.m.; first CT reportedly showed a 4-millimeter subdural hematoma
January 19, 2025	Follow-up CT reportedly showed 6 millimeters; Jones deteriorated, was transferred and underwent emergency surgery at Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center
January 21, 2025	Juanita Bowling Jones died
October 2, 2026	WECT reported that Drew had filed the lawsuit
October 3, 2026	Case active; no settlement or public claim process reported

Frequently Asked Questions About Charles Drew’s Novant Health Lawsuit

Who filed the lawsuit against Novant Health?

Charles Drew, Southport’s fire chief, filed it as administrator of the estate of his mother, Juanita Bowling Jones.

What does Charles Drew allege against Novant Health Brunswick Medical Center?

The lawsuit alleges failures involving fall precautions, post-fall monitoring, response to Jones’ neurological decline, escalation of care and emergency transfer.

What does Charles Drew allege against Dr. Jane Anne Shaw?

The complaint alleges medical negligence in Dr. Shaw’s treatment and monitoring of Jones after her fall and the discovery of the brain bleed. These allegations have not been proven.

How much money is Charles Drew seeking from Novant Health?

The complaint reportedly seeks more than $25,000 on each claim, plus punitive damages. The filing does not establish that the estate will recover that or any amount.

Can other patients file a claim in Charles Drew’s lawsuit against Novant Health?

No. It is an individual case with no public claim process. Other families would need to pursue separate claims based on their own circumstances.

Has a court found Novant Health responsible for Juanita Jones’ death?

No. The lawsuit contains allegations only. No court or jury has found that Novant Health or Dr. Shaw caused her death, and no settlement has been reported as of October 3, 2026.

What is the case number for Charles Drew’s Novant Health lawsuit?

It was reported as filed in Brunswick County Superior Court, but the case number could not be verified from the public court information reviewed, so AllAboutLawyer is not publishing one.

Disclaimer: This article is general legal information, not legal advice. Medical-malpractice and wrongful-death deadlines are fact-specific, so consult a licensed North Carolina attorney about your situation.

Researched and written by Israr Ahmad, legal content researcher and founder of AllAboutLawyer.com. All facts verified against the WECT report, N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-21.11, N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-53(4), N.C. Rule of Civil Procedure 9(j), the North Carolina eCourts Portal guidance and Novant Health’s facility information, as of October 3, 2026. Last Updated: October 3, 2026.