Family sues MercyOne for negligence in heart patient death

SIOUX CITY — The family of a Le Mars, Iowa, man has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against a Sioux City hospital, alleging staff members gave him a lethal dosage of medication and were not paying attention to a heart monitor showing his heartbeat had been stopped for five minutes.

Mary Kay Dreckman and her three children say in the lawsuit that MercyOne Siouxland Medical Center staff members were negligent in the hours leading up to the Sept. 18, 2021, death of 65-year-old Michael Dreckman, who three days earlier had had successful quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery at the hospital.

 Mr. Dreckman was given a lethal injection,” said Nick Rowley, a Decorah, Iowa, lawyer representing the Dreckmans. “When he flat-lined he was in the ICU (intensive care unit), but no healthcare providers were monitoring him. … Nobody rushed to the rescue when loud monitors and flashing lights were going off. Mr. Dreckman’s wife and kids are the ones who discovered that his heart had stopped.”

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