OCTOBER 22, 2000 wegw Sright Lights = *e* 12 sev Geisbrations ee» 33 | — eae Classifieds 4h Crossword oun 54 Sports ° Talking Personals ues for LGH deat Man died following nasa! surgery Anna Marie D'Angelo News Reporter adangclo@nsnews.com THE family of a man who died at Lions Gate Hospital (LGH) after nasal surgery in 1998 is suing the hospital, seven nurses and two doctors. Robert Brent Anderson was 32 and in good health when he underwent an operation: fo Lan infected nasal sinus on Now 6, 1998, according te a statement of claim filed on Oct. 18 in B.C. Supreme Court. Anderson was discovered not breathing about four hours after the oper- ation, He never regained consciousness and died on Nov. 15, 1998, Anderson suffered “1 catastrophic and irreversible brain injury” because of lack of oxygen to his brain, according to the Lawsuit’s allegations prepared by lawyer Albert Roos. Anderson’s widow Alice Asako Anderson and children Lea Komae Holland, 31, and Erin Anderson, 23, are suing LGH, anesthesiologist Dr. John Perry, emergency p! 1 Dr. Gary Andoltatto, post-anesthesia recov ery room (PAR} nurses 1. Pollitt and M. Carballo along with a ward student nurse, Kristen: Sherwood, and her supervisor ward nurse Phyllis Bourgeois. Also named as defendants were nurses who responded to a “Code Blue™ call: Yvonne Lemire, Diane Roemer and John /Tane Doe. The Anderson family is suing for damages associated with negligence and breach of contract for the loss ofa husband and father. No monetary amount is mentioned. “According, to the lawsuit, Andenon was in the operating room) for approximately an hour. He was transterred to PAR at 9:25 pam. From to 10:10 p.m. he was venous shots of morphine at 3 mg or 4 mg dosages. At 10:20 p.m. he was given an intramuscular 10 mg dose of morphine and 50 mg of Gravol. The lawsuit alleges that Dr. Per involved” in Anderson's care in the PAR despite being “in charg patient. The lawsuit alleges Perry didn’t write in his orders the total mor- phine allowed to bi ny thus providing no safety measure in excessive and inappropriate morphine levels. The lawsuit alleges that ourses Pollitt and Carballo did not consult Perry, the surgeon or any other doctor although they were obliged to do so if Anderson's condition was out of the ordinary. The lawsuit alleges that against hospital policy, Anderson was discharged from PAR 20 minutes after his last intravenous injection of morphine and 10 minutes after the intramuscular injection of morphine and Gravel. He was discharged to a ward under the care of student nurse Sherwood supervised by Bourgeois. The student nurse made five visits to Anderson. She noted the patient was mumbling and said the pain was casing. On a fifth visit at 1G min- utes past midnight, she found Anderson’s “skin colour grey and arnis cool to touch. Faine pulse, no resps (respiration), code (Code Blue or cardio respira: tory arrest) called.” Andolfatte administered Narcan which caused Anderson to begin breathing, but he did not regain consciousness. The PAR and ward nurses allegedly failed to follow surgeon's orders of raising, Anderson's head ata 35 degree angle. A hospital spokesman declined to comment. oN Enrollment Fee © NO Contract A i, va att 37 Travel p27 doring the back roads of the Cascade Loop New Robomower the latest development in idscaping technology Business p19 aia i NEWS photo Mike Wakefiold Almost home free EILEEN Pinkerton (from left), Susan Sagiorgis-Woodhouse and Nicole Blanchette wrapped in the “Cloak of Support,” one of the art pieces created by seven participants in The Home Free Project aimed at domestic violence. See story page three. e NO Line Ups Time Limits ° AIG Excuses ies: seca ge