Please take the time to read the article below. My analysis and opinion will be after the article.
After reading this article, I cannot help but just feel sorry for the plaintiff. Sure, things like this can happen unintentionally but this doesnt give us any minute excuse for the damages this have caused the patient.Nurse Administers Wrong Dilantin Dose
"Dilantin Toxicity Blamed for Acceleration on Dementia and Damage to Balance"$1 Million Verdict in AlabamaStandards of Care BreachedRobert Ferguson vs. Baptist Health System d/b/a Baptist Medical Center in Montclair, Jefferson County,Alabama.
The plaintiff, a seventy-seven year-old man, alleged that the staff at the defendant Birmingham hospital overmedicated him with anti-seizure medication so severely in 1999 that his dementia was accelerated, and he suffered additional brain damage and damage to his sense of balance.
He claimed that during a May 26 through June 1, 1999 hospitalization at Baptist Medical Center Montclair, after a fall at his home, he was given more than three times of Dilantin than what his physician prescribed. Robert Ferguson testified that he was able to drive, hunt, fish, and walk on his own prior to the hospitalization. But the overdose left him with severely altered memory, and dependent on a cane and wheelchair.
The defense contended that Ferguson's problems arose from a fall with head and back injuries he suffered before entering the hospital, and denied that the hospital error impacted his pre-existing dementia. During trial, a treating nurse testified that the plaintiff's state of confusion and motor functions fluctuated throughout his stay at the hospital - with identical fluctuation before and after the medication error. The plaintiff had documented signs of dementia before the hospitalization, but claimed the acute overdose quickly worsened the condition.
Testimony indicated the patient was given a daily dose of Dilantin 300 mg from May 21-25, properly as his physician ordered.
However, when he was moved to the hospital's rehabilitation floor on May 26, where he stayed until his discharge on June 1, he was mistakenly given 900 mg of Dilantin daily.
The error happened when the hospital pharmacy filled out Ferguson's chart on the night of May 25 to record that he should receive 300 mg of Dilantin three times a day. The hospital admitted the error, but argued that the error was not sufficient to support the level and extent of damages the plaintiff had claimed. The defense added that no one at the hospital consciously disregarded Ferguson's safety.
The plaintiff alleged the hospital failed to follow safety guidelines, and the staff breached the standards of care in patient care.
When Ferguson was released from care on June 1, in violation of policy, a nurse wrote and signed a prescription indicating that he should continue to receive 900 mg of Dilantin daily while at home. After his return to home, the plaintiff experienced difficulty drinking liquids and staying awake. The medication error was noted by the plaintiff's personal pharmacist when he was asked to refill it.
The plaintiff then returned to the hospital on June 2, at which time physicians determined he had Dilantin toxicity. He was kept for further treatment and observation, and then discharged on June 12. 1999.
Article Credit goes to: medi-smart.com
The plaintiff together with his nurse negligence attorney, Robert Ferguson, has been granted a settlement for a total of $1,000,000 all in all. He got $200,000 for compensatory damages and $800,000 for punitive damages from the hospital.
The case above shows us that as nurses, we are entitled to hold in our very hands patient's life and with this obligation comes responsibility for the care of these patients. Nursing negligence is not something unavoidable, its something preventable with utmost care and caution being observed at all times.
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