Pittsburgh, PA
Woman accuses VA hospital of negligence
Thursday, August 15, 2002
By Torsten Ove, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
A South Side woman has filed a federal wrongful death suit against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, charging that medical personnel at the Highland Drive VA Medical Center were negligent in not preventing her suicidal husband's death in 2000.
Nancy L. McCluskey said that a doctor improperly concluded that her husband, Harry R. McCluskey, was drunk when he had actually taken an overdose of prescription medication.
Harry McCluskey, 44, was driven to the hospital on Feb. 10, 2000, by a friend, John Marshall, who told personnel that McCluskey had taken prescription pills to kill himself and had not drunk any alcohol. According to the lawsuit, Harry McCluskey also told Dr. Nosrotollah Danaee that he had taken the pills and "would do whatever it took to kill himself."
Nancy McCluskey said the doctor concluded that her husband was drunk but didn't order any lab tests to determine if he'd taken too much of the medication that had been prescribed for him. McCluskey had a history of treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, alcohol abuse and pancreatitis.
He was admitted to the hospital at 1 a.m. and placed in a room by himself without monitoring. At 7:15 a.m., he was found unconscious and in cardiac arrest. Efforts to revive him failed and he was pronounced dead at 7:45 a.m.
A coroner's report indicated that McCluskey died of Fluoxetine and Oxycodone toxicity. Both drugs were prescribed for him.
The suit is asking for $977,244, an amount based on McCluskey's disability payments and other benefits had he lived.
This page was last updated on 10/05/2007 01:03 PM
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