We do not usually bring you stories from outside of our coverage area, but this is a story that highlights one of the most common errors made by healthcare professionals – medication mistakes.
A former nurse from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, RaDonda Vaught, has been charged with reckless homicide and impaired elder abuse for the death of Charlene Murphey, a 75-year-old who died while under Vaught’s care in 2017.
Murphey was left brain dead after Vaught administered the wrong medication to a patient. Instead of giving Murphey a routine sedative, she administered vecuronium, a powerful drug used to keep patients still during surgery. Murphy was left brain dead and died after being taken off of life support.
Vladimir Tsirkin & Associates understands the nature of medical mistakes and that the cases can become complex. If you need a Fort Lauderdale medical malpractice attorney, you can count on us to be by your side.
Johns Hopkins researchers shocked everyone when they said that medical mistakes were the third leading cause of death in the United States. They estimate that 250,000 people lose their lives annually due to medical mistakes, but acknowledge that some estimates put that number closer to 440,000 people.
One type of mistake that healthcare professionals make deals with medications errors, much like the one that was made in the story above. Attorneys for Vaught place much of the blame for Murphey’s death on the hospital itself, saying that the hospital’s electronic medication dispensing cabinet was partly to blame. In Vaught’s case, she has admitted that her mistake revolved around giving a deadly drug that had a similar name to the one she was supposed to administer.
The Mayo Clinic says that medication errors are preventable and that thousands of patients are injured each year due to these errors. They say they happen when there is:
It is not uncommon for patients to receive the wrong medication, the wrong dosage of their medication, or to not receive their medication at all.
Please know that not all medication errors occur inside of a hospital. It is likely that you deal with a pharmacist on a regular basis. Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians can make mistakes as well and it is always important for you to check your prescriptions and dosages before leaving the pharmacy.
When medical mistakes occur, victims and their families are left picking up the pieces. Recovery from a medical mistake is often slow and there are times when victims are permanently disabled. Vladimir Tsirkin & Associates will help you get through this by vigorously pursuing the compensation you deserve. This includes:
When you need a Fort Lauderdale medical malpractice attorney, you can contact us for a free consultation by clicking here or calling 305-831-4333.
