Too much of a medication may be very harmful to patients in Chicago. Patients may either suffer life-threatening health problems or fatal injuries when their bodies are forced to process too much of a medication. In some cases, patients may be responsible for their own overdose injuries if they mistakenly take an extra pill. But overdose injuries are often the result of negligent dosing or other medication errors.
A woman recently filed a lawsuit against a doctor and medical center in Illinois for causing the wrongful death of a patient due to a medication error. The woman claims that her mother died from severe health complications after her mother’s doctor negligently prescribed a powerful pain medication. The lawsuit claims that the doctor’s error not only resulted in the death of the patient, but the error also resulted in at least $300,000 in damages.
According to the lawsuit, the patient was treated by her doctor in March 2012. Her doctor prescribed Fentanyl transdermal, which is a patch that releases pain medication while a patient wears the patch. Within two days of starting the medication, the patient died.
The patient’s daughter claims that the patch’s dose was too high, and as a result, the patient suffered fatal overdose injuries. The lawsuit claims that the high dose of the pain medication caused the patient to suffer a fatal heart attack. The patient’s daughter believes these injuries would have never occurred had the doctor prescribed a safer dose of the pain medication.
In order to prevent overdose injuries, Illinois doctors first need to make sure they prescribe correct medications for their patients. Doctors must then make sure they provide their patients with instructions for taking their medications safely. When patients are not capable of taking medications on their own, medical professionals in hospitals and nursing homes may be responsible for making sure patients’ medications are administered correctly. Ignoring these responsibilities may prove to be extremely harmful.
Source: The Madison-St. Clair Record, “Wrong prescription alleged in wrongful death suit,” Andrea Dearden, March 7, 2013
