Rosemount Woman Files Malpractice Suit Against Burnsville Clinic

A Rosemount woman has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against Park Nicollet Clinic’s urgent care facility in Burnsville, and against a physician’s assistant at the clinic.

In her complaint, filed in Dakota County District Court, Mary Lee Thompson says Park Nicollet certified physician’s assistant Terry Larimer overprescribed the antihistamine hydroxyzine, causing her to suffer seizures and other adverse reactions and eventually to lose her job.

Jeremiah Whitten, director of media relations for Park Nicollet, said Tuesday that the clinic "can’t comment on pending litigation."

Thompson’s self-drafted complaint alleges that she sought treatment in June 2007 for an onset of hives, which she said were caused by stress over attempting to settle a claim with a medical insurance company. The complaint says she planned to treat the hives only if necessary, as she didn’t like or trust doctors because of previous experiences with them.

Thompson’s original prescription for hydroxyzine, which she obtained from an emergency room doctor at Fairview Ridges Hospital, was for up to 50 milligrams of the medication every four hours. Her complaint says she went to the Park Nicollet urgent care clinic in Burnsville on June 11, 2007, seeking a refill of hydroxyzine.

Thompson claims that rather than prescribing 50 milligrams of hydroxyzine, Larimer prescribed double that dosage – up to 100 milligrams every four hours.

Thompson – who says she had had seizures in the past, but not for more than 30 years – claims that she suffered a seizure after taking 100 milligrams of hydroxyzine on June 17, 2007.

Thompson subsequently was put on Dilantin to control her seizures, the complaint says. When she began suffering side effects from the Dilantin in September 2007, she lost her job at Southview Acres Health Care Center in West St. Paul, Thompson claims.

Thompson’s complaint says that because she lost her job and medical benefits and has been unable to find another job, she has maxed out her credit cards and is in danger of losing her home to foreclosure.

Her lawsuit seeks compensation for an unspecified amount of medical costs and lost wages from June 2007 through the end of this year – an amount that she estimates at more than $132,000.

“If I receive justice, I will be able to pay our creditors and try to restore my credit rating and try to get my life back,” the complaint says.