Not too long ago, two sons lost their mother during what was supposed to be a routine two-hour surgery to help deliver soothing medication to her aching muscles and bones. According to a report by the Boston Globe, the woman fell last summer and broke several of her vertebrae. Doctors fused several of the bones together to prevent them from moving, but her persistent pain continued.
Eventually, doctors recommended a routine surgery to put a small pump under her skin to more quickly deliver medication to her spine and the surrounding muscles. As a part of the surgery, the surgeon needed to use a certain type of dye that is to be injected into the spine. However, when he asked the hospital’s pharmacist for the dye, the pharmacist replied that they didn’t carry that dye and provided an alternative.
Not looking at what the dye was, and assuming it was a replacement for the requested dye, the doctor injected the dye into the woman’s spine. After the surgery, the doctor told the woman’s sons that the surgery didn’t go as well as expected, but that the pump should still work.
A nurse later told the brothers that their mother was waking up “rough” and that she had requested to see them. Soon after, she started having seizures and sadly died the next day. At the time, the surgeon admitted that he had made a mistake in not double-checking the prescription dye. However, the hospital has since denied all liability, including the liability of the doctors and surgeon as well as the pharmacists.
Prescription Errors in Hospitals
When most people think of pharmacy errors, they generally do not think about the errors occurring in hospitals. However, a significant number of the injuries and deaths caused by pharmaceutical errors occur in hospitals across the country.
Unlike in other pharmacies, hospital pharmacy mistakes often have an additional layer of protection in that a doctor still must administer the medication. This gives the doctor one last opportunity to remedy the pharmacist’s error. Unfortunately, the doctor in the article above failed to notice the pharmacist’s error.
Medical Malpractice and Pharmacy Error Liability
In cases such as the one described above, the family of the deceased victim may want answers from those whom they believe caused the death of their loved one. Luckily, Maryland, as well as most other states, allows for the families of victims of these kinds of errors to recover for their loss in a court of law. To learn more, contact a dedicated personal injury attorney.
Would You Like To Speak with an Attorney?
If you or a loved one has recently been injured by a medical mistake or a pharmaceutical error, you may be entitled to monetary damages. The Maryland law firm of Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers has years of experience in both medical malpractice actions as well as pharmacy error cases. To schedule a free consultation with an attorney, call 410-654-3600 today.
More Blog Posts:
Parents Have a Hard Time When Dosing Children’s Medication Because of Metric-System Conversion, Pharmacy Error Injury Lawyer Blog, July 30, 2014.
Confusing Drug Names May Lead to More Prescription Drug Errors, Pharmacy Error Injury Lawyer Blog, August 20, 2014.