$200,000 Settlement Reached for Negligent Administration of Medication at Nursing Home

Minnie Pearson was admitted to Carrington Place of St. Charles, a nursing home, after she suffered a stroke. She was in her mid to late 70s when she was admitted. About a month after her admission, a nursing aide, Heather Clark, administered another patient’s hydralazine medicine to Pearson and Pearson became unresponsive and hypotensive.

The nursing home staff tried resuscitation and then called 911. However, Pearson died several months later. She was survived by her four adult children. Hydralazine is known as a vasodilator that works by relaxing the muscles in the patient’s blood vessels to help dilate or widen them. Administration of this drug lowers blood pressure and allows the blood to flow more freely through the patient’s veins and arteries. Hydralazine is used to treat high blood pressure or hypertension.

Pearson did not need this medication.

Pearson’s estate sued the nursing home, Clark and her employer, Accountable Healthcare Staffing, alleging negligent administration of the hydralazine and choosing not to timely summons emergency medical assistance when the urgency of Pearson’s condition was very evident. The defendants disputed that the medication error led to Pearson’s death.

Before trial, the parties settled the case for $200,000.

The attorneys representing Pearson were James Eason, David Zevan, Rachel Roman and Andrew Leonard.

Miner v. CPlace St. Charles SNF, LLC, No. 1611-CC01065 (Mo. Cir. Ct. St. Charles County).

Kreisman Law Offices has been handling wrongful death lawsuits, nursing home negligence cases, long-term care facility negligence lawsuits, nursing home rehabilitation lawsuits, physician negligence lawsuits and nursing negligence cases for individuals, families and loved ones who have been harmed, injured or died as a result of the carelessness or negligence of a medical provider for more than 40 years in and around Chicago, Cook County and its surrounding areas, including Calumet City, Deerfield, Glencoe, Winnetka, Kenilworth, Lansing, Lemont, Naperville, Streamwood, Olympia Fields, Glen Ellyn, Downers Grove, Bloomingdale, Willowbrook, Itasca, Oakbrook Terrace, Darien, Glendale Heights, Villa Park, Addison, St. Charles, Vernon Hills, Bensenville, Lake Bluff, Lake Villa, North Chicago, Wauconda, Round Lake Beach, Libertyville, Hainesville, Round Lake Heights, North Barrington, Hawthorne Woods, North Aurora, Willow Creek, Carpentersville, Batavia, South Elgin, Beecher, Monee, Crest Hill, Shorewood, Mokena, Sycamore, Burbank, Stickney, Chicago (Lawndale, Lincoln Square, Midway Airport, Hyde Park, Medical District, Garfield Park, Jackson Park, West Rogers Park), Palos Hills, Oak Forest and Palos Heights, Ill.

Robert D. Kreisman has been an active member of the Illinois and Missouri bars since 1976.