$1.4 Million Settlement for Patient’s Death Caused by Failure to Treat Allergic Reaction to Medication

A forty-four-year-old husband and father of two died as a result of allergic reaction to drug used to treat a heart condition.  The FDA had warned of life-threatening allergic reactions to the drug, Coreg, as early as 2009.  The patient presented to an Emergency Room on two occasions during the thirty-day period prior to his death, suffering from severe allergic reactions.  On the second occasion, six days before his death, a severe allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis was present.  Even following the second Emergency Room visit, the patient’s cardiologist failed to stop the Coreg and actually doubled the dose. The patient was not provided with an EpiPen and was not provided with a referral to an allergist.  The Defendants argued that the patient’s death was not caused by an allergic reaction, but rather, his underlying heart condition.