• 06
  • May
    2011

When and why do we seek medical attention? It's simple. We trust hospitals and the medical professionals who work there to provide us the expert care that we don't know how to or can't provide for ourselves. In many cases, whether medical professionals do their jobs to standard means life or death for vulnerable patients.

But as an Alabama wrongful death case teaches us, it's not just medical professionals' actions that determine patients' health. Hospitals use medical products from various manufacturers. The safety of such products is also crucial to the future of patients. At least one Alabama patient lost her life due to a faulty IV pack.

It's a tragic, startling case of avoidable loss. The wrongful death victim's son has filed the lawsuit against the Alabama company that's responsible for manufacturing IV packs. The plaintiff's mother was given IV fluids provided by the defendant. Instead of the victim's pack miraculously providing her the nutrition she needed to live, the IV was actually contaminated and, therefore, led to deadly bacteria entering the patient's bloodstream.

And this victim reportedly isn't the only Alabama patient to have suffered such a death. Sources report that at least 9 patients have fallen victim to the IV manufacturer's negligence. Six hospitals within the state supposedly were using the dangerous, compromised IV packs.

Sources report that this is the second wrongful death suit filed in response to the IV-related deaths. That doesn't mean that there aren't more to come. Exactly what the son in this most recent suit wants in damages is undisclosed. No amount, however, could ever replace what he lost - his mother.

Source

WAFF.com: "Second lawsuit filed related to contaminated IV death," 14 Apr. 2011