$900,000 Settlement for Elder Care Malpractice (2010) in NJ

Eichen Crutchlow and McElroy, attorneys for the Plaintiff: Plaintiff was admitted to defendant’s rehabilitation center on October 16, 2007 for upper extremity and body build up after being hospitalized.  While in the care of defendant, plaintiff’s blood glucose levels were not monitored properly and on December 14, plaintiff had a blood sugar of 1.  The Plaintiff was transferred back to the hospital where she was placed on a ventilator but died on December 21, 2007.  Plaintiff’s hypoglycemia precipitated a series of conditions which resulted in her death.  The most probable scenario is that she aspirated during hypoglycemic coma and developed cardiovascular collapse, with severe hypoxic encephalopathy.  The patient never recovered brain function and died. The defendant was cited for failure to provide services that met professional standards of care. It failed to assure that medications were consistently documented and administered pursuant to her physician’s orders and clinical standards of nursing practice.