Cancer Patient Dies after Being Given Wrong Drug

When we think of medical malpractice, we often think of a doctor that performed the wrong surgical procedure, amputated the wrong limb, or maybe left a medical sponge in a patient’s body. However, there are many more subtle cases of negligence by doctors and nurses; one of the most common is medication and prescription mistakes.

A brain tumor patient died unexpectedly in an Oregon hospital's emergency room after she was accidentally given a paralyzing agent normally used during surgeries instead of an anti-seizure medication.

In November, the woman had undergone surgery to remove a cancerous brain tumor. She had been making a speedy recovery, and was expected to recover fully. On December 1, she went to St. Charles Medical Center's ER to ask doctors questions about her medication dosage and how to deal with anxiety. She was prescribed fosphenytoin to stem seizures.  A doctor correctly entered the prescription and the order for the drug into the hospital’s electronic medical records system. The pharmacy received that order and used an IV bag that it properly labeled with “fosphenytoin.” The problem is, the pharmacist inadvertently filled the IV bag with the paralyzing drug, rocuronium. A second pharmacy worker reviewed the vials of medication and the IV bag and did not catch the error.  After the medication was administered, a fire alarm went off and a staff member closed the sliding doors of the woman’s room to protect her from any potential hazards. Twenty minutes later, a nurse returned to check on her, but by that time the patient had suffered cardiac arrest.  Although doctors were able to resuscitate the woman, she had suffered brain damage. She died Dec. 3 after life support was turned off.  Several hospital staff members confirmed she was given the wrong medication, before going into cardiac arrest.  The woman is survived by two sons.  The family has not determined if they will take legal action against the hospital.

While some health care providers refuse to take any responsibility in medical negligent cases, hospital officials in this case released a statement accepting at least some responsibility. It said, “While human mistakes were made in this case, we as a health system are responsible for ensuring the safety of our patients.  Several measures have been put in place to ensure such a mistake does not happen again including the creation of a "safety zone" that is intended to eliminate distractions where pharmacists and techs are working and the implementation of a new checking system for paralytic drugs.  The hospital system is also looking at changes in how patients are monitored after medication is administered.  Three employees involved in the error were placed on paid administrative leave.

When we are sick we find ourselves in a position where we are completely dependent on medical professionals. When those healthcare providers make errors the results can be catastrophic  Safety begins with your doctor; but a hospital should also require that three pairs of eyes – the doctor’s, a nurse’s, and a pharmacist’s – verify that the correct medication is being administered in the correct dosages to the correct patients. Patients and hospitals should never assume that nothing could go wrong.

It appears the hospital is taking steps to increase safety and ensure an error like this does not happen again.  Often times that is not the case; many times it comes down to malpractice lawsuits in order to achieve results. They are a primary enforcer of safety changes in the medical/hospital communities. Despite cries of "jackpot justice" and for "tort reform," lawsuits are less about compensation and more about safety and prevention. 

Medical malpractice attorneys will continue to advocate for efforts to reduce these sobering statistics.  Lawsuit Financial will continue to provide non-recourse lawsuit funding to injured people who are fighting for justice without adequate resources to do so. Hopefully, our lawsuit cash advances will provide the resources to withstand the litigation process until justice is served.