Medication Dose Errors

It may be small, but a tiny decimal point can make a huge difference. Consider that spinach has long enjoyed the reputation of a superfood because a typographical error put the decimal point in the wrong place and made it look like spinach had ten times as much iron as it did. This is not necessarily a problem, since it means that you and I can eat as much Florentine pizza and as much palak paneer as will fit in our bellies without overdosing on iron; the worst-case scenario is that, if we follow a vegetarian diet rich in spinach, we might need to take iron supplements. If a doctor, nurse, or pharmacist misplaces or misreads a decimal point, though, the results can be lethal. A patient can get only a tenth of the effective dose of medicine, or a dose that is ten times too high and can cause overdose symptoms. The standard of care requires all healthcare professionals involved in a patient’s care to review the relevant parts of the patient’s medical records thoroughly and to enter notes accurately. If you suffered adverse effects because you received the wrong dose of medication, contact a Fort Lauderdale medical malpractice attorney.

Child Dies After Hospital Staff Administer Ten Times the Recommended Dose of Medication

According to the Daily Mail website, DeMarkus Page was in fragile health his whole life because of medical special needs, but any child can become ill enough to require hospitalization because of dehydration caused by vomiting and diarrhea associated with common childhood infectious diseases. When this happened to DeMarkus, his mother brought him to Shands Hospital of the University of Florida in Gainesville. Doctors indicated that he should be given an intravenous solution containing potassium, but they misplaced the decimal point, so his chart indicated a dose ten times as high as a child of his size should have received.

Because of the potassium overdose, DeMarkus went into cardiac arrest. The lawsuit filed by his mother claims that it would have been possible to save him, but the hospital staff’s response was delayed, and DeMarkus eventually died from lack of oxygen. He was two years old. His mother Dominique Page sued Shands Hospital and the doctors who treated DeMarkus, claiming negligence for giving him a lethally high dose of potassium and failing to monitor his potassium levels until the consequences had already become catastrophic.

Before filing a medical malpractice lawsuit, the lawyers representing the plaintiff must submit a statement from a doctor unrelated to the case, explaining what the standard of care would have been in the patient’s case and how the defendant breached the standard of care. Most medical malpractice lawsuits result in the defendant paying a settlement to the plaintiff without going to trial.

Set Up a Consultation Today

A personal injury lawyer can help you get justice after a medical error involving an incorrect medication dosage in a hospital setting.  Contact Boone & Davis in Fort Lauderdale, Florida or call 954-566-9919 to explore your potential recovery options today.

Source:

msn.com/en-us/health/other/toddler-2-dies-after-hospital-s-drug-overdose-error-in-florida/ss-AA1QmMgv?ocid=msedgntp&pc=ACTS&cvid=69163b0b12e845caa8894ba2fea6cf8e&ei=24#image=6