An Illinois hospital will pay $8.25 million in a wrongful death lawsuit involving an infant’s death after he was given 60 times the correct dose of sodium chloride. The parents of Genesis Burkett filed the lawsuit after their son was given the incorrect dosage of medication in Advocate Lutheran General Hospital.
The baby had a good prognosis despite being born premature, but a tragic mistake in the hospital led to the dosage error. A pharmacy technician incorrectly typed in the dosage amount for an electronic IV order.
How do infant medication dosage errors occur?
Prescription errors involving infants or children often end in tragedy since their small bodies simply cannot handle large amounts of medication. Reports indicate that in the case above, the computer alerts that would have indicated the dosage error were turned off.
Medication dosage mistakes in a hospital happen more often than these institutions would care to admit. There is no federal mandate to report mistakes, either. Unfortunately, mistakes like these can happen to anyone at any time and patients are constantly at risk of pharmacy mistakes, though most of them do not know it.
How to take action if your loved one suffered a hospital dosage error
If you or a family member were harmed because of a hospital dosage error involving negligence you have rights to seek justice through the court system. This also holds the hospital accountable for the mistake and can reduce the chance of a recurring error by making the hospital change its policies.
A personal injury attorney experienced in filing claims against pharmacies and big corporations can guide you in filing a claim for compensation for your injuries, or to determine if a medication mistake caused a wrongful death.
Kennedy Hodges does not represent the case above, but we have helped many patients file claims for compensation after a prescription error nationwide. If you would like to start a free case review with our personal injury attorneys today you may contact our office at 1-888-526-7616.
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