Lawsuit Alleges Hospital Patient Died After Given Wrong Medication: The widow of a hospital ICU patient who was given medication intended for another ICU patient has filed a Maine medical malpractice wrongful death lawsuit against Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center (“EMMC”) in Bangor, Maine, for the death of her husband in 2021.
The widow’s wrongful death lawsuit alleges that her 76-year-old husband went to EMMC on September 20, 2021, to be evaluated for possible seizures. He was admitted to the hospital and placed in ICU where five days later he was documented to be conscious and alert throughout that day. The nurse during the night shift, who was assigned to care for the man and another patient who was on a ventilator in the next room, gave the man cisatracurium that was intended for the patient on the ventilator.
Cisatracurium besylate is an intermediate-acting, non-depolarizing neuromuscular blocking drug (NMBD). As an NMBD, it may be used as an adjunct to general anesthesia facilitating tracheal intubation and providing skeletal muscle relaxation during surgery. It may also be used to provide skeletal muscle relaxation to facilitate mechanical ventilation in an intensive care unit setting, but must be used with sedation.
After the man was wrongfully administered cisatracurium intended for the other patient who was on a ventilator, a rapid response was called for the man at 6:15 p.m. because he was not breathing and his blood oxygen levels were below normal. The medication error was not recognized until about 30 minutes later. An antidote to the cisatracurium was administered but it was too late. The man died at 7:38 p.m.
The plaintiff’s Maine medical malpractice wrongful death lawyer stated after the lawsuit was filed in early February 2023, “The more than 30 minutes when Russ slowly lost control of his ability to move, speak and breathe, is a nightmare scenario come to life, and Northern Light EMMC should be held accountable for his wrongful death. This egregious error could have been prevented had basic steps been followed. The family is hopeful that no other family will have to endure what they have..”
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for funeral expenses, medical expenses, the loss of the comfort, society and companionship of their loved one, and for the pain and suffering the decedent experienced after he was administered the drug until his death.
One week before the widow’s lawsuit was filed, a Cumberland County jury awarded the parents of a 25-year-old Portland man $6.5 million in a medical malpractice wrongful death lawsuit against EMMC’s parent company, Northern Light Health, for the misdiagnosis of their son’s Lyme disease in 2017 that led to Lyme carditis that killed him.
If you or a loved one may have been injured (or worse) as a result of medical negligence in Maine, you should promptly find a Maine medical malpractice lawyer who may investigate your medical malpractice claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a Maine medical malpractice case, if appropriate.
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