According to a report by the Minnesota Department of Health, Kenneth Allers suffered seizures for over 11 hours while a nurse (only identified in the report as “Alleged Perpetrator”) ignored him. Allers died the next day.
The report states that on the morning of August 31, 2016 Allers had two seizures, approximately one-and-a-half hours apart. According to the report, Allers was unresponsive but breathing after the seizure and showed visible signs of pain including “grimacing and restlessness.” Despite a request for pain medication by the staff, the nurse did not administer any pain medication or alert a physician. After a third (and the report states “subsequent seizures”), Allers bit his tongue causing swelling and “extensive oral trauma.” Again, the nurse did not administer any pain medication or notify a physician despite staff requests. This cycle continued and Allers proceeded to have seven seizures over an 11 hour time period, during which the nurse did not administer any pain medication, alert any staff or provide any other medical assistance to Allers. After enduring seven seizures, the nursing staff changed and Allers was given pain medication by a different nurse.
When interviewed by the Minnesota Departemnt of Health, the nurse stated that he or she was not aware the patient should have been given any pain medication and did not know that a physician or on-call nurse should have been notified. Basically, the nurse provided no explanation for why he or she did not contact the physician or seek to help Allers. The Minnesota Department of Health said this lack of care constituted negligent behavior by the nurse – violating the hospitals protocol, state law and federal regulations on proper care for a patient. The report states that the appropriate parties will be notified of their right to seek legal action based on Aller’s maltreatment.
In response to the nurse’s negligent actions, the hospital terminated the nurse’s position and ensured all other nurses “were aware of the correct policy and procedure on contacting the physician and/or on-call nurse.” In addition, the Minnessota Department of Health states that the nurse will be included on its “abuse registry” and will be recommended for the disqualification of his or her nursing license.
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