Medical Malpractice Complaint In Alabama State Action Resulting In $20 Million Jury Award To Estate Of Woman Given Opiates Despite Allergy, Causing Brain Damage And Death
June 2, 2016 - On June 23, 2011, Doris Green was admitted to defendant HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Gadsden, LLC, for comprehensive rehabilitation for two weeks towards the goal of her returning home to live with her daughter, Regina Honts, with the greatest functional capacity as possible. On June 30, 2011, HealthSouth's nurse discovered Green in an altered mental status, and her physician ordered her to be transported to Gadsden Regional Medical Center (GRMC) for treatment. While admitted at GRMC, Green received a CT scan of her head, which was negative for acute process. Green was rehydrated and transferred back to HealthSouth on or about July 2, 2011. Green was discovered by HealthSouth's nurse at 4:40 a.m. on July 5, 2011 in an unresponsive state. At that time, her oxygen saturation was recorded to be 70 percent. Green did not respond to a sternum rub, and she was transferred to GRMC's emergency department. When she arrived at GRMC, Green was in a coma. Green was given a urinalysis screen after her admission into GMRC on July 5, 2011, and she tested positive for opiates. GMRC ran a second urinalysis screen which confirmed the presence of opiates in her system. Green was given an IV push of Narcan in the hospital, and she responded favorably. She was then given an IV drip of Narcan up until July 7, 2011, and she was monitored in the intensive care unit until her condition stabilized and she was ultimately discharged home to be cared for by a home health provider. While Green's condition stabilized, her neurological and cognitive abilities remained impaired from her incidence of hypoxic encephalopathy up through her death on Oct. 22, 2011.
Plaintiff Regina Honts claimed that Green had not been prescribed any opiate medications while under the care of HealthSouth and, in fact, was admitted into HealthSouth with clear warnings that she was allergic to opiates. Furthermore, given her age and general health condition, Green was susceptible to respiratory suppression and hypoxia if she was provided opiate medication. Plaintiff claimed that HealthSouth administered opiates to Green on or about July 5, 2011, causing Green to become hypoxic, develop encephalopathy, and ultimately die as a proximate result of an allergic and/or adverse reaction to the opiates she was given at HealthSouth.
Plaintiff filed a medical malpractice action against Healthsouth on Aug. 12, 2013, in the Circuit Court of Etowah County, Alabama. The case was assigned to Judge William H. Rhea, III. On May 18, 2016, the jury returned a verdict awarding plaintiff $20,000,000.
Plaintiff was represented by Rip Andrews and Ben Ford of Marsh, Rickard & Bryan, P.C., and Bruce Downey of the Downey Law Firm. For more information about this case, including expert information, the full summary can be viewed at Regina Honts, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Doris Green, Deceased, v. Healthsouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Gadsden, LLC; 2016 Jury Verdicts LEXIS 3471.
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