A family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against a hospital following the death of their 2-year-old child, which the lawsuit claims was caused by a medication error.
The child's parents say that the child was prescribed heparin, a drug that is typically used to prevent blood clotting during medical procedures. The child had been prescribed the medication as she underwent kidney dialysis.
The lawsuit says that an overdose of the blood-thinner caused the death of the couple's daughter, claiming that hospital staff administered a dosage of the medication that was 10 times higher than what had been prescribed.
The child was born with congenital defects and was brought to the hospital named in the lawsuit where she received liver, bowel and pancreas transplants. Shortly after being discharged, she was readmitted to the hospital because of an infection.
A virus caused by the infection required the child's kidneys to malfunction, which required her to be placed on dialysis. She was placed on heparin infusion pump, which the lawsuit claims was incorrectly programmed, causing the medication error which went unnoticed for nearly five hours.
The overdose led to the child suffered bleeding in the brain, and she died several days later.
The family seeks damages for wrongful death as well as for their daughter's suffering and the emotional distress the family has suffered.
Wrongful death can often be the result of medical malpractice. If you believe the death of a loved one may have been caused by a hospital or doctor's mistake, contact the Law Offices of Dr. Bruce Fagel & Associates for a free legal consultation.
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