Personal Injury Law

Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Filed After Drug Mistake

By Steven M. Levin and John J. Perconti

Some of the most tragic medical errors are those that occur during routine hospital visits, when a patient and their family least expect major problems to develop. Boston News reported on one of those shocking mistakes, ultimately leading to the filing of a wrongful death lawsuit.

According to reports, the 76-year old victim went into Massachusetts General Hospital to get rid of a minor urinary tract infection that had developed after breaking her shoulder the year before. Doctors did not expect the infection to cause much trouble, and she was planning to leave the facility very shortly. But she would never made it out of the hospital.

In a deadly mix-up, hospital employees gave the victim a huge dose of blood thinning treatment. The drug Lepirudin was prescribed in an amount 30 times higher than needed. As a result, her blood was incapable of clotting when she bled internally. The suffering victim ultimately hemorrhaged for 12 hours in the hospital before dying.

Obviously the victim?s family was devastated by the medical error and have filed a medical malpractice lawsuit seeking to hold the hospital and negligent professionals responsible for their conduct. Were it not for the egregious drug error, the mother and grandmother would still be alive today.

Full post as published by Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog on March 11, 2011 (boomark / email).