Our client, a man in his fifties, walked into the emergency department of his local hospital with complaints of abdominal pain. He was dead within hours. He left behind a wife and three grown sons.
The nurse receiving the telephone order from the pain management specialist transcribed it incorrectly and raised the dose for Dilaudid to a deadly amount
At the hospital, a pain management specialist made a telephone order for Dilaudid, a Schedule II opioid pain medication. We discovered that the nurse receiving that telephone order incorrectly transcribed it on the order sheet, raising the dose to an obviously fatal amount. The hospital pharmacist filled this clearly deadly order without questioning it. The patient overdosed and died shortly thereafter. The hospital never told his family about this medication error.
The hospital hid the truth from the family but our team of medical malpractice attorneys aggressively investigated the case and uncovered the truth
Through our meticulous investigation and aggressive questioning of hospital employees at deposition, we uncovered the truth and finally told the family how their husband and father really died. We then expertly negotiated with the hospital to obtain a $3 million settlement, despite the fact that the patient experienced no pain and suffering and had little income from which he could support his wife and sons.
The hospital was found accountable for their negligence
We are glad that we could hold the hospital accountable for their reprehensible acts of carelessness and bring some comfort to the family. We believe that this case will enhance patient safety by forcing the hospital to put safeguards in place to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.