An elderly patient was admitted to a Central Virginia nursing home after hospitalization for respiratory difficulties she suffered at home. On admission, her blood pressure was noted to be high. She was prescribed two anti-hypertensive medications to reduce her blood pressure, and the facility administered them both. Unfortunately, the medications were administered twice when they only should have been administered once. The facility also failed to monitor her blood pressure after giving the medications. The patient’s blood pressure plummeted and caused abdominal bleeding, which was not timely recognized. As a result, the patient developed an abdominal hematoma and required urgent surgery to evacuate the hematoma. The patient was hospitalized for a prolonged period of time and died several weeks later from complications caused by the medication error and the abdominal hematoma. The nursing home claimed its staff timely recognized complications that resulted from the medications that were administered and reported those complications to the patient’s physician. The case settled for a confidential amount in the six figures.
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Robert W. Carter, Jr. is a Virginia attorney whose law practice is dedicated to protecting the rights of the victims of nursing home and assisted living neglect and abuse in Richmond, Roanoke, Norfolk, Lynchburg, Danville, Charlottesville, and across Virginia.
