Particularly when dealing with children, hospitals and other medical facilities need to be keenly aware of the drugs and dosages they are dispensing.  As a medical malpractice lawyer, I have worked on matters where slight variations in medication dosage have had catastrophic consequences for the child involved. 

I was again reminded of the dangers faced by infants when medical facilities administer the incorrect medication dose when I saw a recent Chicago Sun Times article regarding a recently filed medical malpractice lawsuit against a Chicagoland hospital.

An infant recent died following an overdose of sodium when staff at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital administered a dose-- 60 times higher that prescribed by the physician!  According to news reports this error was made by when a pharmacy technician incorrectly filled and labelled the medication. The sodium concentration level in the babies iV solution apparently resulted in the babies death.

Medication Errors In Children

Hospitals are notorious for providing incorrect medications and dosages amongst all patients.  In adult patients, the mix-ups may be cause for alarm--- but when similar medication errors are made with children or infants the results can be far more serious.

In a study of childhood medication errors in hospitals published in Pediatrics, revealed some disturbing statistics:

• 107 out of 960 randomly selected medical charts for children contained evidence of an adverse drug event
• 22% of the averse drug events were preventable
• 17.8% of the drug mishaps could have been identified earlier
• 16.8% of the cases involving medication errors could have been treated better
• The majority of adverse drug events (medication errors / overdose) involved opioids and antibiotics

While the medical community of course needs to aggressively treat any childhood illness, the staff in hospitals and medical institutions need to remember the the severity of the impact that the slightest medication error can have on the younger, smaller patients.

As a lawyer, I find cases involving medication error and overdose inexcusable.  Staff at medical facilities need to both carefully check physician orders and use their common sense to determine if the what they are doing is medically appropriate. 

Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, represents children and adults who have been victimized by medication errors due to problems at a medical facility or pharmacy.  Many of these cases are particularly dependent on getting physical evidence following the event.  Consequently, you may wish to speak with an attorney experienced in these cases before you confront a medical professional.

Related:

Improper Drug Dosage, Wrong Medication, Interactions With Other Drugs.... May Be The Result Of Pharmaceutical Malpractice

Bar Coding To Reduce Mistakes With Administration Of Medication

Development, Testing, and Findings of a Pediatric-Focused Trigger Tool to Identify Medication-Related Harm in US Children's Hospitals (pdf)  in US Children's Hospital, Pediatrics, volume 121, Number 4, April, 2008 pages e927-e935 by Glenn Takatam, MDa,b, Wilbert Mason, MD, MPHc, Carol Taketomo, PharmaDe, Tina Logsdon, MSf and Paul Sharek, MD, MPHg

Lawsuit says Park Ridge hospital’s negligence caused baby’s death Chicago Sun Times, BY KIM JANSSEN Staff Reporter/kjanssen@suntimes.com Apr 6, 2011 5:38AM