Suing a Hospital for Negligence | Overdose

Overdose occurs when an excess amount of a medication has been given and causes a toxic effect to the body.  Sometimes the body will heal itself from an overdose or it can be healed with the help of additional treatments. There are times though that an overdose of a drug can cause an immediate and serious injury to a patient including organ failure and in some cases death. It is the responsibility of medical staff to administer the proper dosage of a drug to prevent any type of overdose. If you feel that you or a loved one may have been given an overdose that caused injury or death, call or team of medical malpractice attorneys today. Malman Law knows how to take the steps to investigate medical records to determine if your injury was caused by an overdose.

For example, a resident who was being cared for in a nursing home was administered a drug that included specific dosages. The patient was in their wheelchair in front of the nurses’ station when the incident occurred. It took over twenty minutes before someone noticed that the patient was not breathing.  When a staff member took notice of the state of the patient, they called for an ambulance and the patient was put on a ventilator at the hospital, but ultimately died shortly after. 

This incident occurred due to neglect from multiple staff members at both a hospital and nursing home. The resident was seeking treatment at a hospital and the drug administeredwas supposed to be a dosage of “.5 mg.” However, the nurse at the hospital wrote the discharge prescription order as “5 mg.” The incident occurred when the patient was transferred back to the nursing home.  The nurse at the nursing home called the physician to go over the medication transfer orders and he said, “Yes, all meds as ordered.”  He originally had a .5 mg on the order. However, the nurse at the hospital read it as 5 mg, therefore causing the overdose to be administered. Physicians are supposed to put a zero (0) in front of the .5 to make sure the .(point) is not overlooked as in this case. 

What resulted from this mistake was the unfortunate and preventable death of the resident.

Overdose effects vary with age, state of health, and the type of medication administered. Nonetheless, overdose is a serious medical error and victims have the right to contact medical malpractice attorneys to recover compensation for the damages done.

If you or a loved one were administered an overdose of a medication while under the care of medical staff and thus suffered damages to the body, call our office to receive a free case evaluation. Treatment for overdose can be short term or it may need ongoing treatment which can cause excessive medical bills. The medical malpractice lawyers at Malman Law have the knowledge and skill to investigate your case to submit a successful claim.