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Texas Hospital On Defense Over Treatment Of Ebola Patient

The family of Thomas Eric Duncan, who died from Ebola on Wednesday, is reportedly considering suing the hospital where he was treated.
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A new controversy is surrounding America's first Ebola patient — whether or not the Texas hospital which treated him did enough. 

The family of Thomas Eric Duncan, who died from Ebola Wednesday, are reportedly considering suing the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. 

That news comes from The Dallas Morning News, which talked to a spokeswoman for the family. 

According to the paper, the family's complaints come from Duncan being sent home after his temperature jumped to 103 degrees, despite telling staff he was recently in Liberia. 

This, after NBC reported Duncan's nephew had to actually call the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to get Duncan the appropriate care once the hospital initially refused to admit him.

The New York Daily News reports family members are also questioning why Duncan didn't receive a blood transfusion from an Ebola survivor.

 That's one way Nebraska health officials are treating the U.S. journalist who contracted Ebola while in Liberia. 

But Texas Health Presbyterian has been on the defense, denying any wrongdoing in the steps it took to treat Duncan. 

A statement released Thursday said the hospital provided "the same high level of attention and care that would be [to] given any patient" and explained a blood transfusion wasn't given because Duncan's blood type didn't match that of any survivors.

And in an interview with The Huffington Post, Dallas mayor Mike Rawlings shot back against the accusations made by Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Dallas county commissioner who said race played a factor. 

DALLAS MAYOR MIKE RAWLINGS: "I do not believe that race played a part in this, I disagree with that premise. We are a city that prides itself on its diversity."

Still, the hospital is making changes to how it takes in patients so it can more easily observe indicators for the deadly disease. 

The CDC announced Friday that the total deaths from Ebola in West Africa had surpassed 4,000. Duncan is the only patient known to have died in the U.S.

This video includes images from Getty Images.