A patient’s death has led an estate administrator to sue an Illinois hospital and the staff members for medical malpractice. The claim is for hospital negligence based upon allegations that the staff at South Shore Hospital erroneously gave the patient a type A blood transfusion, causing her considerable pain and suffering. The patient actually needed type B blood for the transfusion.
The transfusion took place on Jan. 13, 2007. The suit claims that the hospital agents and employees failed to proofread the patient’s information, failed to follow proper procedure and failed to communicate with the blood bank to avoid errors. The claim also asserts that the hospital staff and agents failed to maintain safeguards to help prevent clerical errors and failed to accurately label the blood samples.
According to the claims made in the lawsuit, the patient died that day due to the error. Before her death, however, it is alleged that she experienced pain and suffering. The plaintiff has alleged that the defendants, which include known and unknown staffers, were negligent.
Unfortunately, accidents happen in the medical profession, and sometimes those accidents lead to serious injuries or even a patient’s death. However, when a death occurs due to hospital negligence, surviving family members have a right to seek financial accountability from those deemed negligent. A medical malpractice lawsuit in Illinois must be predicated upon appropriate proof of medical error. An attorney experienced in handling these types of claims can help loved ones file the suit and move forward within the civil court system.
Source: cookcountyrecord.com, “Woman dies after alleged transfusion with wrong blood type“, Carol Ostrow, July 29, 2015