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It is vitally important that you don't mix prescription drugs. Typically, hospitals and pharmacists are a key component of ensuring that the wrong drugs do not get mixed together in a patient's body that could lead to serious physical consequences. However, sometimes hospitals or pharmacists aren't careful about what they give to patients. Dolores Hankey suffered permanent damage after hospital staff didn't properly monitor her prescription drug intake after she underwent heart surgery. Now Ms. Hankey is blind in both eyes and she and her husband are suing the hospital, three doctors, and two nurses for failing to follow the standard of care procedures.

Ms. Hankey entered a hospital in Wyoming 6 1/2 years ago on December 13, 2005 to undergo coronary artery surgery. Ms. Hankey also received treatment for an unrelated knee infection in a prosthetic knee replacement. Doctors then placed her on narcotic painkillers, antibiotics and drugs used to treat high blood pressure and stress hormones. They then added a diruetic to her cocktail of medications, which caused Ms. Hankey's blood pressure to drop and blocked flow to her vital organs. Five days later, she was blind in both eyes.

The Hankeys are suing the three doctors and two nurses that cared for her and their employer, Intermountain Medical Group and Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center. A neurologist concluded that Ms. Hankey suffered brain dysfunction from excessive levels of antibiotics and other drugs following her knee surgery.

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