Family claims Georgia hospital euthanized father through overdose

By Andy Pierrotti

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    SNELLVILLE, Georgia (WANF) — Paul Lowe was 93, but the husband and grandfather was still living independently and making plans for the future. He often left notes for his wife to read around the house.

“One of the last notes I have [from him] is, ‘Putting this in writing, ‘Do not buy more ice cream,’ said Betty Lowe. “Because he knew, if I brought it home, he would eat it.”

Paul Lowe died in May at Piedmont Eastside Medical Center in Snellville, Georgia, while being treated for pneumonia. When he passed away, his family said the hospital initially told them he died from natural causes.

But a lawsuit filed in Cobb County on Monday claims the hospital fatally overdosed him with morphine, and then failed to save him, despite knowing about the mistake for hours.

When her father died, “The first thing I thought of was, this sure was quick, but I really wasn’t expecting anything had happened to him,” said Devon Garner.

About three months after Lowe’s death, his widow, Betty Lowe, said she received a call from the hospital, notifying her medical staff made a mistake. “Was it morphine?” Betty Lowe asked. The hospital confirmed it was. “”And the reason I said that was because I remember there was some confusion,” Betty Lowe said.

During an in-person meeting with Betty Lowe and Garner, they said hospital staff told them it accidently overdosed Paul Lowe on morphine, administering about 60 times more than prescribed. When Garner asked if the morphine killed her father, she said hospital staff told her that was something they’ll never know.

The lawsuit claims hospital staff knew about the overdose for at least five hours, but never took action to try to reverse it. Medical records indicate a nurse asked a doctor to use Narcan to help reverse the overdose, but the doctor declined to use it.

“Medical care providers knew that Mr. Lowe would most likely die within minutes or hours of being given this overdose of morphine if not action was taken to administer Narcan to reverse the effects of the morphine overdose,” said Dr. Matthew Tuck, who works at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and who provided a sworn affidavit part of the lawsuit.

Dr. Tuck also said he doesn’t believe Lowe should have been given morphine at all due to his history of kidney disease. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued prominently labeled warnings, known as black box warnings, to avoid using the opioid with patients with a history of kidney failure.

“Typically, the sooner after you notice the overdose, or you start seeing signs, you start hitting them with Narcan,” said Randall Tackett, a professor at the University of Georgia college of pharmacy. He said he can’t think of a reason Narcan wouldn’t be used if someone is overdosed on morphine.

According to the lawsuit, “Medical care providers told Mrs. Lowe that her husband had died of natural causes and kept the truth hidden from her that her husband had been euthanized by being given an overdose of morphine that was purposely not reversed.”

Lowe had a “Do Not Resuscitate” order in his medical record, but his family believes that’s no excuse not to save him because the hospital allegedly made the mistake.

The family’s attorney, Natalie Woodward, believes Lowe’s age played a role in the hospital’s alleged inaction. “It is incumbent upon them to take these situations seriously, regardless of whether this is someone who’s three or 93,” Woodward said. “This was a lethal dose of morphine.”

Garner and Betty Lowe said the hospital should have notified them immediately after identifying the overdose. They feel like they were robbed of an opportunity to determine how to respond or a chance to say goodbye. “I feel like no one has the right to take somebody else’s life,” Garner said.

Atlanta News First Investigates reached out to Piedmont for a statement but did not provide a comment before the deadline to publish.

According to the National Institute of Health and the Mayo Clinic, medical errors in hospitals result in approximately 100,000 deaths each year. Morphine is among the top 10 drugs involved with mistakes.

“It’s occurring and can occur, and it shouldn’t occur if people are carefully giving it and monitoring them,” Tackett said.

Lowe’s family recognize Paul Lowe’s advanced age, but the husband and grandfather still lived independently and had plans for the future. Lowe often left notes for his wife to read around the house.

“One of the last notes I have [from him] is, ‘Putting this in writing, ‘Do not buy more ice cream,’ said Betty Lowe. “Because he knew, if I brought it home, he would eat it.”

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