Opioids and other types of painkillers are very effective in medical settings. If someone is admitted with traumatic injuries from a car accident or undergoes major surgery, doctors may use opioids to help them manage the pain.
However, it’s important to note that an opioid overdose could occur if hospital staff make a medication error. The most obvious way this happens is when someone is simply given too much of the drug in question. Morphine, for example, is an excellent painkiller, but if a nurse accidentally administers twice the recommended dose, it can be a fatal mistake. Patients are often unaware of exactly what medications they are being given or the correct dosage, so they may not catch the error.
Mixing medications together
Another type of medical malpractice occurs when hospital staff negligently mix different medications that have adverse reactions when combined.
One example is if a patient is given two different opioids at the same time. This could happen due to a communication error, an issue with health records or another documentation error. Even if the drugs are technically different, this could still lead to an overdose.
Another risk is when patients are given two entirely different medications for separate symptoms, but the drugs have a dangerous interaction. For instance, benzodiazepines and opioids do not mix well. Xanax, which is used to treat anxiety, is an example. If a patient is given both Xanax and an opioid, the interaction between these two drugs could be fatal.
Have you suffered harm or lost a loved one due to a medication error? If so, be sure you know what legal options you have.