Hospital gives too much Oxy and accidentally kills patient

The Eisen Law Firm Wrongful Death Case Facts

Dee Simmions presented to her local Ohio hospital after being involved in a minor car crash. In the Emergency Department, she reported severe pain in her neck, chest, and entire right side of her body. Ms. Simmions was admitted to the hospital for observation and pain management.

Over the next few days, she was prescribed several pain medications to treat her ongoing pain, including Oxycodone (a narcotic) and Cyclobenzaprine (a muscle relaxant). These medications are known to cause respiratory depression, and it is important for the nursing staff to closely monitor patients for this potentially lethal side effect. This is especially important in high-risk patients like Ms. Simmions, who was 71 years old, weighed only 100lbs., and had no history of drug use.

On day four of her hospital admission, a nursing assistant went into Ms. Simmions’s room to check her vital signs. The assistant documented a heart rate but no blood pressure or respiratory rate. He also documented that he could not obtain a pulse ox (a measurement of oxygen in the bloodstream), so he notified a nurse.

A half hour later, Ms. Simmions’s nurse came to check on her. Like the nursing assistant, the nurse also was unable to obtain a pulse ox, but documented that Ms. Simmions was alert, oriented, and talking to family on her cell phone. Since Ms. Simmions was still complaining of severe pain, however, the nurse gave her two more tablets of Oxycodone and left the room.

An hour later, the nurse returned to Ms. Simmions’s room and found her unresponsive. A code blue was called, and Ms. Simmions was briefly resuscitated, but then she coded again. This time, she was unable to be resuscitated.

The County Coroner determined the cause of death to be toxic effects of Oxycodone and Cyclobenzaprine therapy. In other words, the narcotic medications caused respiratory depression (that was not recognized or reversed by the nursing staff in a timely manner) and resulted in respiratory arrest and death.

The Eisen Law Firm Wrongful Death Case: Investigation and Preparation

Ms. Simmion’s family contacted The Eisen Law Firm to represent them in the investigation of a potential medical negligence/wrongful death claim. The investigation began immediately.

The Eisen Law Firm began by obtaining and reviewing the key medical records from the hospital and the coroner’s office, and performing extensive medical research. After developing a complete understanding of Ms. Simmions’s medical history and the complex medical issues involved, The Eisen Law Firm put together a strong team of experts to review and prosecute the case, including experts in the specialty fields of Internal Medicine and Hospital Medicine. The experts agreed to provide the requisite “Affidavit of Merits” so that a lawsuit could proceed.

The Eisen Law Firm Wrongful Death Case: Negotiations and Proposed Settlement

Once the case was prepared fully, The Eisen Law Firm approached the hospital to discuss a potential pre-suit resolution of the matter. The Eisen Law Firm has handled medical negligence and wrongful death cases exclusively for almost 30 years and has had many cases involving this local hospital. The Firm and its attorneys have developed an excellent reputation, with the defense bar in general and this hospital specifically, as zealous and knowledgeable advocates and adversaries. As such, they have been able to reach early, significant resolutions with this hospital in the right circumstances.

In this case, the hospital recognized the egregious error of its nursing staff and agreed to schedule a private mediation before a lawsuit was filed. The mediation went forward and after a full day of intense negotiations, the parties agreed to a confidential, seven-figure settlement.