Family Wins Wrongful Death Suit Re Medication Mix-up

Readers in New Mexico may be interested in a case involving a woman who was given improper medication in Dec. 2014. According to court records from the wrongful death lawsuit, the woman was a 65-year-old hospital patient. The specific reason she was in the hospital was not reported, but she was supposed to be provided with an anti-seizure medication. Unfortunately, she was given a paralyzing agent in her IV instead.

As a result of the mix-up in medication, the woman stopped breathing. She went into cardiac arrest and suffered irreparable brain damage. Two days later, her family took her off of life support.

After this happened, the hospital conducted an internal investigation to find out why and how this type of medical mistake could have occurred. It was determined that the problem was with the pharmacy. Apparently, the wrong medication had been put into the patient’s IV bag. It was labeled with the proper medication — the anti-seizure medicine — so there was no way for the caregiver administrating the medication to realize that it was the wrong medicine.

It could not be disclosed what the monetary award was that the family received in this particular case. However, the parties did reach a settlement. While there is no amount of money in the world to make up for the loss of losing a loved one, successfully presenting a wrongful death suit in New Mexico civil court may result in a judgment to help cover some of the financial and emotional losses with which a surviving family has to deal. 

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