Medication Allegedly Causes Fatal Stroke

Case Overview

This case takes place in California and involves a patient that was diagnosed with a psychological condition who had a known allergy to a particular class of antipsychotic medication. She presented to the hospital, where the defendant hospitalist gave her a large dose of the medication in question. The patient went into a state of unconsciousness, where she languished for several weeks before finally succumbing. A CT scan done on her brain after death showed that she had suffered a major stroke while unconscious. It is alleged the medication that was administered either caused the stroke or that it hid the symptoms of the stroke due to the patient’s unconscious state.

Questions to the Neurology expert and their responses

Do you have extensive experience treating patients with lewy body disease?

I am a board certified neurologist and I am actively practicing in a major academic setting. I also am a neuroscientist doing research on brain function and disease. I have treated many patients with this disorder.

What kind of treatment should be provided to them?

The treatment is mostly symptomatic to treat the frequent hallucinations and motor symptoms.

Is haldol an appropriate drug?

This drug is rarely appropriate and typically should be avoided most of the time because patients with this disorder also usually have it in their substantia nigra and parkinsonism.

Should this be prescribed to a patient with a known allergy?

If the allergy is a true allergy, then absolutely not. If the patient has had a dystonic reaction to the drug in the past, then also certainly not appropriate.

What steps could have been taken to avoid this type of outcome?

If the patient was agitated then benzodiazepines, atypical anti-psychotics and antidepressants would have made more sense.

About the expert

This highly qualified expert is board certified in neurology and has been practicing for 16+ years. He received his PhD degree from the University of Pennsylvania and completed his internship training at Graduate Hospital before concluding both his residency and fellowship trainings at the University of California, San Francisco. He is a fellow of the American Neurological Association and a member of various other professional associations, including the American Academy of Neurology and the Society for Neuroscience. He has published 70+ peer-reviewed journal articles, serves in the editorial board of 6+ renowned medical journals, and has received multiple honors for his work as an academic and practitioner. He lectures both nationally and internationally and is a former Assistant Professor at UCSF. Currently, he is the endowed chair of neurology and a Professor of neurology at a top 10 university in California.