A lawsuit filed on behalf of a New Mexico author alleges that a Santa Fe hospital revived the woman in violation of her "do not resuscitate" directive while she was in the facility's care in 2016, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
The lawsuit filed in New Mexico state district court against Santa Fe's Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center alleges that the hospital was negligent twice in its treatment of Jamie Sams, a writer known for her books about spirituality.
The lawsuit also alleges that Sams was given the painkiller Dilaudid, a medicine she claims she is allergic to, the Journal reported. Sams suffers from Dercum's, a rare disease that produces tumors all over the body, the newspaper reported.
According to court documents obtained by the Journal, Sams went into cardiac arrest after receiving the drug in the emergency room on Feb. 5, 2016, and the hospital's negligence was compounded when she was resuscitated -- something she did not want. Sams had signed a "Double DNR (do not resuscitate)" form, the newspaper reported.
“As a result of being revived, Plaintiff continues to experience severe pain, disability and limitations and further, will incur extensive expenses throughout the remainder of her life,” the lawsuit against the hospital and emergency room doctor Jamie Gagan states. “This condition is extremely debilitating and painful and, moreover, requires frequent hospitalization and medication at great expense.”
Christus spokesman Arturo Delgado told the Journal that Gagan works for HealthFront, which does emergency services work for the hospital. He said he could not comment on the lawsuit.
Sams is a Native American author who co-wrote "Medicine Cards: The Discovery of Power Through the Ways of Animals." According to her author biography on the Amazon website, she is a member of the Wolf Clan Teaching Lodge. Sams is half French and half American Indian, with ancestors from the Cherokee, Seneca, Choctaw, and Mohawk tribes according to her profile at Spirituality & Practice.
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