Daughter claims Seroquel caused father's death

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http://www.madisonrecord.com/news/newsview.asp?c=190199

The estate of LaRue Simms filed a wrongful death suit against three local nursing homes claiming a drug they gave him contributed to his death.

LaRue Simms' daughter, Lisa Simms, special administrator of the estate, claims her father was a resident at the Alhambra Care Center, VIP Manor and Cahokia Nursing and Rehab Center from August 2003 until his death on Feb. 6, 2005.

She claims the medication Seroquel was given to her father while a resident at the three nursing homes and it caused his death.

She also claims the nursing homes failed to provide her father with appropriate medical care, failed to keep him free of chemical restraints, failed to employ staff adequately trained and failed to ensure her father's drug regimen was free fom unnecessary drugs.

Simms also claims the nursing homes failed to properly assess her father's behavioral issues, improperly moved him in their facilities with excessive frequency, failed to protect him from other residents and failed to document effects of drugs administered.

Simms claims her father received doses of Seroquel for an unsafe duration of time which caused or contributed to his death from a chemical overexposure.

She claims her father was required to incur substantial expenses for medical care, endured pain and suffering in his body and mind and was deprived of the remaining enjoyment of life that he had.

Simms also claims the family was liable for funeral and burial expenses.

Represented by Elizabeth Parker of the Lakin Law Firm in Wood River, Simms is seeking damages in excess of $400,000, plus costs of the suit.