• Emergency Room Error
• Infection in Hospital
• IV Errors
• Equipment Failure
• Blood Transfusion Injuries
• Laboratory Mistake

Intravenous therapy or treatment through an IV is one of the more risky medication administration methods. IV errors occur often in healthcare facilities and can lead to serious consequences for a patient including major injury, illness, or death.

Why do IV errors occur?

IV errors can occur for a number of different reasons. Mistakes involving the preparing or administering of IV medications are a common cause of IV errors. If medications are mixed in a previously used container and given through a common IV, an incompatible reaction could result in reduced potency of the drug or risk of toxicity, which could lead to serious injury or illness.

Hospitalized patients are often very ill and need medication administered immediately through an IV. A physician, nurse, or other medical professional who prepares the drug may bypass the correct steps and procedures that ensure patient safety, which can lead to IV errors. This often occurs because of the shortage of competent health care professionals like hospital pharmacists and nurses in addition to the high levels of stress that exist in a hospital atmosphere. Negligence is a common factor in cases of IV errors.

Types of IV errors

According to a recent IV study, nearly half of all IV errors occurred in either the administration or the preparing of the medication. Some of the more common types of IV errors include:

• Improper injection of drug
• Extra dosage or wrong dose of drug is administered
• Failure to give medication through an IV
• Faulty IV pumps and valves
• Wrong time of administration
• Incompatible combination of drugs administered
• Wrong drug or solution was used

Have you suffered from an IV error?

If you or someone you love has suffered a serious injury or death due to IV errors or other medical mistakes, you have the legal right to pursue a medical malpractice claim to recovery your losses. A competent and caring Melbourne medical malpractice attorney can evaluate your case and determine the best course of action. It is important to note that every state has statute of limitations laws that could prevent you from filing a claim after a specified time period.