Perea, Mario et al vs. THI of Lubbock aka Southwest Regional Specialty Hospital

Mr. Jacob Perea was admitted to Southwest Regional Hospital in Lubbock following heart surgery for rehabilitation. On multiple admission documents and subsequent records the physicians and hospital personnel noted Mr. Perea's allergy to ativan. Despite these notations of the allergy throughout Mr. Perea's chart, the hospital nurses gave Mr. Perea two injections of ativan. Mr. Perea was found unresponsive the next morning and subsequently died.

The nurse employed at Southwest Regional who documented the "physician's order" for ativan had previously had his license to practice nursing suspended in Colorado for giving ativan to a patient without physician permission. Mr. Perea's physician and physician's assistant at trial all denied giving the order for Mr. Perea to receive ativan. The Director of Nursing at Southwest Regional knew this nurse had previously had his license suspended for giving ativan to a patient without physician permission and choose to hire the nurse anyway. This nurse now has lost his license to practice nursing here in Texas due to stealing patient medication to get high.