Medication Overdose

"Dennis Quaid and his wife sued the makers of heparin Tuesday after their newborn twins were inadvertently given massive doses of the blood thinner at a hospital. The product liability lawsuit, filed in Chicago, seeks more than $50,000 in damages. It claims that Baxter Healthcare Corp., based in Deerfield, Ill., was negligent in packaging different doses of the product in similar vials with blue backgrounds. The lawsuit also says the company should have recalled the large-dosage vials after overdoses killed three children at an Indianapolis hospital last year"
(AP Associated Press)


I can understand the lawsuit against Baxter Healthcare Corporation, (the makers of Heparin) as they should of done something after three children were overdosed with Heparin. The blame shouldn't be just put on that company though. The doctors and nurses at those hospitals is also responsible as well. The bottles had similar packaging but the information on the vials were correct. The problem to me seems to come from negligence of reading the labels on the vials to be sure it is the correct medicine and dosage. Aren't the doctors and nurses suppose to read the labels on the bottles of the medications before administering them? These nurses and doctors should also be held responsible for these incidents. Our lives are in their hands when we are at their facility. They should read the labels on the vials carefully before giving them to the patients. Yes, having a different label can help but it still comes down to paying attention to what is on the label that counts.

Source cited:
AP Associated Press MSNBC.com