Professional Negligence Law Reporter

Veteran Dennis Ostrander suffered a back injury and experienced severe and unrelenting back pain. From approximately 1997 to 2018, Veteran’s Administration (VA) physicians and staff prescribed morphine to alleviate Ostrander’s pain. He also took the antidepressant Elavil.

In the summer of 2018, however, the VA discontinued Ostrander’s morphine prescription, leaving him unable to manage or control his back pain. He went to a VA hospital emergency room, where medical staff prescribed Flexeril, a muscle relaxer. After taking 10 pills of Flexeril within a 24-hour period, Ostrander developed an altered mental status and began having thoughts of suicide. His wife returned him to the VA hospital, where he suffered seizures that led to hypoxic brain damage. Ostrander, 73, died one week later and is survived by his wife and two adult children.

Ostrander’s wife, individually and on behalf of his estate, sued the United States, alleging negligent prescription of Flexeril, which is contraindicated in patients taking Elavil. The plaintiff also claimed that without the morphine or appropriate medical management, Ostrander was unable to manage his severe pain.

The parties settled for $475,000.

Citation: Ostrander v. United States, No. 1:20-cv-642 (N.D.N.Y. Jan. 25, 2022).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ member Patrick J. Higgins, Albany, N.Y.