Brain Injury Caused by Negligent Care
A Louisiana filed a medical malpractice lawsuit after negligent care led to his brain injury.

December 02, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Brain Injury Caused by Negligent Care

In 2010, a patient suffered anoxic brain injury (an injury due to a lack of oxygen in the brain) after overdosing on post-operative pain medication. In the resulting medical malpractice lawsuit, the individual was awarded $126,500 against the nurse who was assigned to his post-operative care, as well as her employers.

In this case, Ralph LeCroy was recovering from rotator cuff surgery at the Glenwood Regional Medical Center in West Monroe, LA, when he was given a 50 mg dose of Demerol IV in the recovery room, before being transferred to a post-operative room under the care of a contract nurse employed directly by Interim Health Care Staffing of North Louisiana.

The nurse was to monitor Mr. LeCroy's vitals and administer Demerol for pain every three hours as needed, with the option to administer Vicodin by mouth instead every three hours. However, just 2 hours and 20 minutes after a dose of Demerol, the nurse administered another dose. Just 10 minutes after being administered this dose, Mr. LeCroy stopped breathing. He was put on a ventilator and transferred to the hospital's intensive care unit. He was hospitalized a total of five days.

After experiencing episodes of memory loss, Mr. LeCroy visited his family physician, who ordered an EEG and MRI. These tests showed an anoxic brain injury, likely due to the overmedication during the recovery time.

The lawsuit against the nurse, Interim Health Care, and the hospital claimed that the nurse did not monitor and assess Mr. LeCroy properly, and failed to follow the physician's orders. She also failed to provide appropriate nursing interventions and non-medication comfort. When the pain medication was not working, she failed to talk to the doctor before administering more of it outside of the proper timeframe.

The case ended with a decision on the behalf of the plaintiffs. Mr. LeCroy was awarded over $116,000 for pain, suffering, mental anguish, medical expenses, and emotional trauma, while his wife received $10,000 for loss of consortium.

Cases of medical malpractice often involve significant, life-changing injuries. For those who have been injured during their stay at a hospital, it is important to contact an experienced attorney for help.

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