ROCKPORT (AP) – A man died last weekend because the wrong kind of dye was injected into his spine for an X-ray of his back at Penobscot Bay Medical Center, hospital officials said.

Hospital President Roy Hitchings said Tuesday that the state Department of Human Services, which regulates hospitals, has been notified of the incident.

The state medical examiner’s office is also investigating.

Hospital officials would not identify the man because of patient confidentiality laws, but the Bangor Daily News cited people close to the incident in identifying the victim as Robert Nason Jr., 31, of Rockland.

Nason was in the hospital on Friday for a myelogram, an X-ray of the spinal cord that is taken after dye is injected.

After being injected, the patient developed symptoms serious enough to be taken to the hospital emergency room, where a neurologist suspected the symptoms were related to the test, Hitchings said. The neurologist went to the radiology department and confirmed that the wrong dye had been used.

Nason was transferred late Friday to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where he died early Saturday.

“We believe the wrong dye was used,” Hitchings said. “We believe that it was human error.”

Hospital officials would not pinpoint where hospital employees erred in the process of selecting and using the dye, or what kind of incorrect dye was used.

They said the hospital is still conducting an investigation.

Hitching said more than one person was involved, including a radiologist and technicians. He said the hospital may be facing lawsuits and regulatory action.

“As we try to deal with all of that, we’re trying to be very upfront,” Hitchings said.

In 1998, the hospital came under fire after an elderly woman died less than an hour after being released from the emergency room.

That year, an 18-year-old girl was sent home from the emergency room after a vehicle accident, and it was discovered later that she had a broken neck that required two surgeries.

AP-ES-10-15-03 1030EDT