A hospital in Oregon admitted medical malpractice by acknowledging that a patient was given the wrong medication, resulting in her death.
A 65 year old woman died two days after she was administered a paralyzing agent normally used during surgery, rather than the anti-seizure medication she should have received. Loretta Machperson had come to the emergency room at St. Charles Health hospital in Bend, Oregon because she had questions about medication dosage following her recent brain surgery. She stopped breathing and suffered cardiac arrest and brain damage after receiving the incorrect medication.
A spokesperson for the hospital stated that an investigation is currently underway. The investigation will look into every step of the medication process, checking how the medication was ordered from the manufacturer, how it was mixed, packaged and labeled by the pharmacy and how it was brought to the nurses who administered the drug to the patient.
Thousands of people die every year in the United States due to medical malpractice and hospital errors. A 1999 report by the Institute of Medicine estimated that 98,000 people die from hospital errors, while a recent 2013 report published in the Journal of Patient Safety indicates that the actual number of deaths from hospital errors range from 210,000 to 400,000 each year.
The Ohio medical malpractice attorneys at Clark, Perdue & List have successfully represented many clients who have suffered injury or death as a result of medical negligence. If you or a loved one have been injured by the negligence of a medical provider, contact Clark, Perdue & List.