Jacob Perea was a 78-year old widower who, despite having a history of heart disease, respiratory issues, and diabetes, stayed active in maintaining 17 acres of his sons’ land. In the spring of 2004, he was admitted to Covenant Medical Center in Lubbock a number of times for a number of things—abdominal pain, confusion, chest pains, shortness of breath, etc. During those visits, the doctors diagnosed that he was allergic to the drug Ativan and they marked that up in his records.
In late 2004, he suffered a fall that caused a slight cervical fracture. Again he was admitted to Covenant, but Covenant decided to transfer him to Southwest Hospital. Evidence at trial showed that Covenant documented Perea’s allergy to Ativan and that the medical personnel at Southwest were well aware of it. Despite the documentation, two nurses administered Ativan to Perea. He lapsed into a ventilator-assisted coma and Southwest transferred him back to Covenant. Seeing no changes in his condition after a week, his family asked that he be removed from the ventilator and he expired. Continue reading →
