Tubing Error Injury
Tubing Error Injuries
Hospital patients suffer debilitating injuries and sometimes die as a result of errors in connecting tubing or catheters by a nurse or other hospital staff. IV tubing misconnection errors commonly occur when a nurse negligently connects one end of a tube or catheter to the wrong device. Hospital tubing connectors come in standard sizes to fit broad ranges of medical equipment used for various functions.
While practical, this also makes for connection mistakes. Patients are connected to devices to administer medications, oxygen, fluids, or to monitor arterial blood pressure, and in a busy hospital environment, a nurse, doctor, respiratory therapist or physician assistant can attach a device to the wrong tube.
Contact us today online or by telephone at 412-672-5444 or toll free at 800-392-4529 to speak with a Pittsburgh medical malpractice lawyer.
Examples of Improper Tubing
Examples of improper tubing involve intravenous lines, feeding tubes, epidural catheters and umbilical lines frequently connected to the wrong port or device, leading to oxygen deprivation or pulmonary emboli that can cause severe brain damage, paralysis or death.
Unfortunately, tubing misconnections often occur due to nursing error because of poor lighting in the patient’s room at night, fatigue, inadequate training, rotating shifts, or just poor nursing practice and technique. All of these are avoidable by proper training and adherence to the correct standard of care when connecting, reconnecting or changing tubing connections. Nevertheless, mistakes still occur.
If you or a loved one suffered a serious injury due to a tubing error, you should contact the medical malpractice attorneys at Pribanic & Pribanic for a free initial consultation to learn more about your legal rights. Often times, legal remedies are available to recover for past and future medical expenses, pain and suffering and the other losses you have suffered.
