Medication Error Causes Death of Miami Man

Apr 30, 2007

Recent changes in Florida's medical malpractice law limited clients' recovery. The Alvarez Law Firm settled the claims of the family of a Miami man against a Miami hospital for wrongfully administering 10 times the dosage of a medication ordered by his doctors. The 81 year old man, who was recovering from a fall, was scheduled to be released the next morning to a rehabilitation facility when a nurse at the hospital erroneously gave him the wrong dose of the medication Haldol.

Instead of giving the patient a 0.5 mg dose, his nurse gave him a 5.0 mg dose or 10 times greater than what was ordered. Within minutes, the elderly patient stopped breathing and he went into pulmonary arrest. His brain and body went without oxygen and he suffered severe brain injuries. The patient required 24 hour care, was incontinent and had to be fed through a tube. He died nine months later from complications of the medication error. The hospital has admitted they were negligent and agreed to pay $750,000.00 which included the maximum amount allowable under the new limitations.

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