Patient Dies as a Result of Being Given the Wrong Medication

Southfield, MI (Law Firm Newswire) February 5, 2015 – When people go to the hospital, they expect to leave alive, not die as a result of being given the wrong medication.

“Robert Athey lived in a nursing home until he was taken to the O’Bleness Memorial Hospital E.R. complaining of shortness of breath and suffering from an accumulation of fluid between the lining of the abdominal organs and the abdomen,” says Daren Monroe, a Litigation Funding Corporation representative located in Michigan.

While waiting in the E.R., the attending physician ordered several drugs to be administered, including Rocephin. Rocephin is a close class relative to Keflex and is also related to Cephalosporin. Since Athey’s allergies were clearly marked on his medical chart on admission, it was reasonable to expect that the medical personnel would know that Rocephin was related to Keflex and not administer it.

On admission, the intake forms asked for known allergies. Athey’s listed allergies were peanuts, cranberries, Penicillin, Haldol, Keflex, VIP dye and Glipazide. The admitting doctor also made a note of his allergies. Despite the notes, Athey received a drug that killed him.

Athey’s daughter, Connie Campbell, filed a wrongful death lawsuit alleging that the defendant hospital and various medical personnel were negligent in giving her father medication that he was allergic to, and that they failed in their duty of care to him by not grasping the fact that the drug was related to one of his drug allergies.

The lawsuit statement of claim further alleges that Athey died as a direct and proximate cause of the defendants negligence, and that he suffered extreme emotional distress, mental anguish, physical pain and death. “But for the negligence of the hospital personnel giving him medicine he was allergic to, he would still be alive,” says Monroe. “And as a direct result of them not providing an accepted standard of care, he suffered a wrongful death.”

The suit seeks special and medical damages, compensatory and incidental damages and consequential damages.

“The family would bear the brunt of all the medical expenses incurred on behalf of their father and would likely be hard pressed to be able to pay such a large medical bill. Even with insurance, the amount would fall well short of what the hospital would expect to be paid. One solution the family might want to consider is applying for pre-settlement funding,” Monroe suggests.

Pre-settlement funding, also known as a lawsuit loan, is emergency cash sent to a plaintiff to help them get back on their feet financially, pay off all of their outstanding hospital bills and keep current with their usual financial obligations. The lawsuit loan also allows the plaintiffs the time and peace to heal without having to consider any offers from insurance companies wanting them to settle for pennies on the dollar.

Learn more at http://www.litigationfundingcorp.com