KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A local family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court against the Kansas City VA Medical Center, claiming staff there treated their father with medication he was allergic to.
Craig and Mark Beemer seek compensation for the loss of their father, John Beemer, last year.
Court documents said John Beemer had been a patient at the Kansas City VA Medical Center since 2008. Since that time, his allergy to cephalosporin medications had been documented in his files.
On April 6, 2016, Beemer went to the VAMC emergency department for shortness of breath and for overall weakness. Court documents said Beemer was diagnosed with pneumonia and treated with Ceftriaxone, a cephalosporin medication.
A few days later, Beemer returned to the emergency room complaining of a rash over most of his body. Court documents said Beemer was again treated with Ceftriaxone.
Beemer’s symptoms worsened over the next few days and he developed pus-filled sores on his face.
According to court documents, VAMC staff continued to treat Beemer for pneumonia despite the new and worsening symptoms. Treatment with Ceftriaxone continued until he was discharged into hospice care on April 26.
Beemer died of sepsis two days later.
The court documents allege VAMC did not provide proper medical care to Beemer and failed in the duty to correctly diagnose and treat him.
A spokesperson with the Kansas City VA told 41 Action News "due to pending litigation, Kansas City VA has no information to pass along about the lawsuit."
