Prescription error lands hospital in court over cerebral palsy boy

A young boy who was given the wrong medication in hospital for a cough now suffers cerebral palsy and epilepsy. His mother wants compensation from the hospital which gave him Diamicron, an oral hypoglycemic, a blood sugar lowering agent used in diabetes, instead of Demazine, an antihistamine. He began having seizures after three days of taking the medication secondary to ketoacidosis from very lower blood sugar levels and consequently suffered irreversible brain damage that left him weak and incontinent of urine and feces. The mother is seeking damages for future hospital care, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, epilepsy management, incontinence management, and consideration of future loss of wages. The hospital has admitted fault.

Source: summary of medical news story as reported by The Star

Related Disease Topics:

• Cerebral palsy
• Epilepsy
• Ketoacidosis
• Diabetes
• Brain damage

Related Symptom Topics:

• Seizures
• Urinary incontinence
• Fecal incontinence
• Cough

Article Source Details

About: Prescription error lands hospital in court over cerebral palsy boy

Date: 23 May 2005

Source: The Star

Author: Siyabonga Mkhwanazi

URL: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=14&click_id=125&art_id=vn20050523063956726C300570

Related Medical Topics

This summary article refers to the following medical categories:

• Epilepsy
• Cerebral palsy
• Medication
• Medication and cough
• Medication and antihistamine
• Medication and oral hypoglycemic
• Medication and diabetes
• Medication and epilepsy
• Medication and medical error
• Medical error and litigation
• Medical error and cerebral palsy
• Medical error and cough
• Medical error and oral hypoglycemic
• Medical error and hypoglycemia
• Medical error and ketoacidosis
• Medical error and epilepsy
• Medical error and loss of wages
• Medical error and wheelchair bound
• Medical error and incontinence
• Side effects and medical error
• Side effects and oral hypoglycemic
• Side effects and hypoglycemia

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