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Medical malpractice claims may follow improper dosing

Parents in Maryland put a lot of trust in their children’s healthcare providers. Whatever the need for medical care, parents look to those trained to handle the issue to the best of their ability. Whether performing a medical procedure or writing out a prescription, if mistakes are made that lead to injury — or worse — medical malpractice claims may follow.

When it comes to providing proper medication dosages for children, there is a lot of concern over the lack of available information from manufacturers. According to recent reports, less than half of all pharmaceutical manufactures actually perform clinical testing for children’s medications. The others count on physicians to come up with proper dosing amounts. This practice places children at risk of experiencing injury.

While physicians do have the right to utilize medications for off-label uses, having this clinical data may help doctors make better choices regarding the different uses for these prescribed drugs. However, since this information is not readily available, many physicians may choose to simply lower an adult dose based on a child’s age, height and weight. Unfortunately, this does not always produce the desired result and can actually have serious consequences for the patient.

Parents in Maryland who have had a child injured, or worse, due to an improper dose of medication may be entitled to pursue legal action against the medical provider considered responsible. These claims can be filed against a physician, other support staff or even the facility where the incident occurred. Medical malpractice claims may be settled out-of-court or through trial; either way, cases that are successfully managed may be awarded compensation for any financial losses suffered as a result any medical error.

Source: newsinferno.com, “Limited Data Available on Medication Dosage for Kids“, Oct. 20, 2014

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