About two hours after his arrival at the hospital, the patient was found in cardiopulmonary arrest, and a code was called. Extensive resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful.
At autopsy, the cause of death was found to be anoxic encephalopathy resulting from mixed alcohol and hydromorphone. A physician contacted the medical examiner’s office over concern about the amount of hydromorphone given to the decedent.
The defendant physician testified that she was unaware of the decedent’s blood alcohol level. She said she assumed that nurses would monitor the decedent appropriately and would use their judgment regarding how much hydromorphone to administer, based on the decedent’s response. The nurses, however, maintained that no monitoring was ordered and claimed that the doctor never questioned them regarding the decedent’s status.
The defendants claimed that the amount of hydromorphone ordered was appropriate for an obese man with severe pain and that continuous monitoring was not required. The defendants also claimed that the man’s death was actually the result of severe hemorrhagic pancreatitis. The defendants also disputed the decedent’s life expectancy.
A $500,000 settlement was reached.