Lawsuit?

[Dempather, RN]

Appreciate the posts. I passed them on to my co-worker. Thanks!

[ebear, BSN, RN]

Med. -mal. cases are very complicated. Without significant damages, it is HIGHLY UNLIKELY that an attorney would accept any such insignificant case. May be significant in that an error was made, just not significant on the outcome of the error. Again, it all boils down to $$$.

ebear

[Dempather, RN]

How about delayed reactions to penicillin? How often can they occur? Can they be experienced after one dose or are more common with prolonged therapy?

[pinksugar]

A lawsuit can happen anytime a court does not throw it out. They might not win, but you still need to defend yourself and go through a trial. And don't forget "emotional distress" as being harmed by the error.

You can sue for emotional distress? Looks like every single one of my patients will be getting slapped with a lawsuit!

[TiredMD]

Actually no a lawsuit cannot happen from that incident. For there to be a lawsuit there had to be damage done to the pateint. There was no damage done thus no lawsuit could be filed. Just because an error was made does not automatically mean there is grounds for a suit. Remember for lawsuits to filed there has to have been damage done. That is the law in all states. That comes from my attorney sister in law.

There are harms here:

1) Increased cost of hospitalization if pt had to stay longer due to this

2) Emotional distress

3) Loss of wages (if not working due to being in the hospital)

Another common tactic is to claim that, due to the trauma of the incident, the plaintiff can no longer have intercourse with their spouse.

[DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN]

How about delayed reactions to penicillin? How often can they occur? Can they be experienced after one dose or are more common with prolonged therapy?

No, not after this long, absolutely not. Normally speaking if a patient is allergic to penicillin they will have an almost immediate reaction ranging from itching, hives, shortness of breath to respiratory arrest. Yes, if a patient is truly allergic to penicillin then the reaction would likely occur after one dose. Highly doubtful it would take prolonged therapy to cause an allergic reaction.

People who a really allergic to penicillin get in trouble really quickly after the med is administered, especially IV.

Most of the time people's allergies have more to do with gastric upset than a true allergy but of course we can't question them. Anytime they say they are allergic to a drug, for any reason then we take them seriously.

I'd tell your friend she has nothing to worry about in regards to the patient. Probably an SOE will take care of the matter.

[Dempather, RN]

"Another common tactic is to claim that, due to the trauma of the incident, the plaintiff can no longer have intercourse with their spouse."

Heheh. I've even heard that one used before.

[TiredMD]

Heheh. I've even heard that one used before.

I had a mentor who was sued by a patient who developed compartment syndrome of the foot who used this argument.

God only knows what a foot injury has to do with "gettin' it on".