Our Hartford pharmacy error attorneys have recently been alerted about a wrongful death lawsuit announced last week involving the incorrect administration of morphine, a topic our Maryland attorneys have been reporting on in our Maryland nursing home lawyer blog.
The lawsuit claims that Henry Peters Dyck entered the hospital in July of 2008 with a condition on his right knee called hemarthrosis, that caused pain and bleeding in the joint of his right knee. Dyck was reportedly prescribed 10 – 30 mg of morphine in a liquid form every four hours as needed.
According to the lawsuit, filed by Dyck’s family, one week later, a nurse accidentally gave Dyck a cup of liquid morphine that contained 100 mg, instead of the 10 – 30 mg he was supposed to receive. The dosage was around five times stronger than his prescription called for, and this medication error caused Dyck to go into distress from the morphine poisoning.
The staff at the hospital reportedly tried to reverse the poisoning by pumping Dyck’s stomach, inducing vomiting and flushing his bowels, but the attempts failed, causing Dyck to suffer a heart attack. Dyck died four hours after the morphine overdose.
Dyck’s family claims in the lawsuit that the staff did not give him Naloxone, a drug known to be used as a remedy to stop the lift-threatening effects of morphine. The family alleges that the hospital’s attempts in saving Dyck’s life were not effective, caused him great pain and were physically invasive—all contributing in the end to Dyck’s wrongful death.
At Lebowitz and Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers, our Maryland medication mistake attorneys are experienced in representing medication error victims and their loved ones in the Washington D.C. area or in the state of Maryland. Contact us today at 1-800-654-1949 to schedule your free consultation, and receive the personal injury compensation that you deserve.
Morphine Overdose Led to Death: Lawsuit, Winnipeg Free press, August 20, 2010
Woman Injured by Morphine Overdose Gets $3M in Nursing Home Negligence Lawsuit, Maryland Nursing Home Lawyer Blog, August 25, 2010
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