Many things can happen if a nurse gives you the wrong dose of medication. Depending on the medication, you may have an immediate and severe allergic reaction. Allergic reactions to medications may include symptoms such as seizures, nausea, rash, fever, and shortness of breath. In these cases, medical professionals will often issue instant treatment methods to slow the development of an allergic reaction.
In more severe cases, a wrong dose of a medication may interact with other drugs and medications. These cases often require more extreme forms of medical intervention. When a patient has multiple drugs prescribed to them, drug interactions can prove to produce a variety of unwanted and potentially dangerous side effects. Sometimes nurses who are giving a patient medication are unaware of the dangerous interactions different drugs may cause. Per the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), medication errors made by doctors, pharmacists, hospitals, and the patients themselves, are a major problem. If all errors were avoided, complicated issues remain. This includes bad interactions among different drugs prescribed by different doctors for patients.
If you happen to be giving birth and you receive an improper dose of medication, then your baby may also suffer harm. In any case, nurses and other medical professionals may cause permanent damage to a victim when they administer the wrong dose of a medication. Babies and mothers who experience an improper dose of medication during the birth process are at risk of encountering a host of health problems.
If you or a loved one were harmed or injured due to the negligent act of a nurse, doctor, or other medical professionals, then you may be entitled to receive financial compensation for your pain and suffering. A lawyer who focuses on negligent nurses and birth injuries will examine the details of an incident to establish a liable party. They will then compile a case to present your position and pursue any financial awards that you may be owed.
You should contact a birth injury lawyer as soon as possible if you think a nurse’s negligence led to your or your baby’s injuries or poor health condition. You need to respect your state’s statute of limitations, otherwise, you will not be able to seek any damages from the responsible party. Your attorney will explain what needs to be done, when, and how so you can maximize your chances to receive a satisfactory settlement.
Common Causes of Medication Dose Errors
There are many possible causes of nurses administering the wrong medications. Sometimes they may fail to read a chart or other form that indicates a patient’s allergies to a certain medication. This kind of inattention represents a blatant form of medical malpractice. In other situations, nurses may fail to communicate with other medical professionals to gather the correct information regarding a patient’s medication and doses. Unfortunately, failure of clear communication is a common form of medical malpractice.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) points out that some medication errors may be the result of bottles that look similar. When medical professionals go to administer medication to patients, bottles that lack any differentiating features may prove to be confusing. The FDA, along with other entities, is constantly working to ensure that medication bottles have proper labeling to reduce the likelihood of a dose error.
In some cases, a nurse may administer the right drug, while failing to administer the proper dose. While these cases may not seem as severe as those where a different drug is administered, they often bear severe health consequences for the victim. A large dose can cause serious and immediate health complications. The likelihood of ongoing problems is also high when a nurse gives a patient a large dose. In certain cases, the possibility of an overdose may even lead to wrongful death.
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Contact Our Office Today if You Have Been a Victim of Medication Dosing Errors
If you have to wonder about what happens if a nurse gives you the wrong dose of medication, then it is easy to let your mind tilt into negative thinking. This is perfectly natural, but if a nurse or other medical professional caused you harm in their neglect, then they should be held responsible. The financial and legal consequences of such a mistake are hard to navigate alone.
A lawyer who focuses on these cases can stand up to lead the pursuit of justice on your behalf. When you have a lawyer working on your behalf, they will collect evidence, establish liability, and go after forms of monetary compensation that you may be owed for your medical bills, pain and suffering, and other recoverable damages. For a free consultation, call the Birth Injury Lawyers Group today at (800) 222-9529.
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