Hospital reportedly used inferior drugs to treat leukemia

A hospital may have to pay in excess of $100 million concerning a medical malpractice lawsuit that was filed against it. The lawsuit concerns a series of medication errors where the hospital reportedly failed to provide the newest drug therapies to children that were suffering from leukemia.

The hospital has already paid $45 million to a number of families to resolve these matters since 1998. The hospital may end up paying out as much as $120 million to settle all of the claims filed against it.

Though settlements this large are extremely unusual, the consequences of medical malpractice will always be enormous. Surgical errors, the failure to diagnose, or the use of the wrong medications can mean the difference between recovery and serious injury or death. And because proving these sorts of cases can ultimately be so complex, anyway considering bringing these sorts of lawsuits may be greatly served by consulting with an attorney experienced in the medical malpractice area.

Whenever we are talking about lifesaving technology, any advances must be carefully studied and considered. It would be expected under these sorts of circumstances that professionals in the area would be aware of all of the latest breakthroughs.

And especially when it comes to a disease as serious as leukemia, hospitals do need to keep abreast of all the latest medical technology. If a particular treatment will provide at least a partial solution to such a devastating illness, the hospital should at least entertain whether this sort of therapy or medication should be used.

Source: KOB.com, “UNMH to pay out millions in medical malpractice lawsuit,” Dec. 9, 2012