You talked to your doctor about all of your cancer treatment options. Together, you decided on a course of chemotherapy, and you expected that the chemo would be administered as ordered by your oncologist. Unfortunately, that’s not what happened.
Types of Chemotherapy Administration Errors
Your oncologist did not make a mistake in developing your chemotherapy treatment plan. The doctor ordered the right drugs given your diagnosis and health history, the right dose of those drugs, and the right method of administration to get the medications into your body. However, when it was time to get the chemotherapy, the medical staff responsible for delivering the medication made one of the following mistakes. They provided the:
- Wrong type of chemotherapy. There are many different chemo drugs and each one is used to treat a specific type of cancer. If you receive the wrong kind of medication, you could suffer serious health effects. The chemo drug may interact with other medications you are taking or result in unnecessary and dangerous side effects.
- Wrong route into the body. Each chemotherapy drug is administered in a specific way, such as through an IV push, intermittent IV infusion, multiple-day continuous IV infusions, or orally. If medication is administered the wrong way, the drug will move through your body in an unintended manner and could result in serious side effects.
- Wrong dose of chemotherapy. Too much medication may result in dangerous and potentially fatal side effects. Too little medication may not treat your cancer effectively and allow the cancer to spread in a way that it would not have done if your doctor’s treatment plan had been followed. Therefore, it is essential that you receive the right dose of chemo as ordered by your doctor.
- Medication at the wrong time. Even if the dosage is correct, getting chemo too early or too late can have the same effect as receiving the wrong dose of chemotherapy. Too much chemo may build up in your body and put you at risk of toxic side effects and too little chemo may not treat your cancer effectively.
- Medication to the wrong patient. When a chemotherapy drug is given to the wrong patient, the results can be devastating. If you received the wrong pill or the wrong drug was put into your IV, you may experience harmful or fatal side effects for no reason. Additionally, the chemo you received by accident could have a dangerous interaction with the chemo you received on purpose.
Injuries From Chemotherapy Administration Mistakes
Chemotherapy often causes unpleasant side effects. Just because you suffer a side effect does not mean that an error was made in giving you chemotherapy. You should, however, seek prompt medical attention for any significant chemotherapy side effects including:
- Fever
- Infection
- Bleeding or unexplained bruising
- Difficulty breathing
- Long-lasting diarrhea or vomiting
- Bloody stools
Additionally, you should be watching for signs of problems with your heart, kidneys, lungs, and nervous system. If you believe you suffered any of these side effects because of a mistake in the administration of your chemotherapy, you should take further action.
Protect Your Legal Rights After a Chemotherapy Mistake
Someone else’s mistake resulted in you being injured by the wrong dose of chemotherapy. You are already paying the physical price for this type of malpractice. You shouldn’t also have to pay the financial price. Instead, you should talk to a Kentucky chemotherapy overdose law firm who will thoroughly investigate what happened to you and fight for you to recover fair damages for all of the injuries you’ve suffered, including, but not limited to, past and future:
- Medical costs
- Lost income
- Physical pain
- Emotional suffering
- Out-of-pocket expenses
Our lawyers and staff nurse are here to help. Please call us or fill out our contact form any time – 24/7/365 – to schedule a free, confidential, no-obligation consultation.
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