Assessing Your Legal Options for Compensation after Negligent IV Injuries in New Jersey
There are a multitude of reasons why you may receive intravenous (IV) therapy, perhaps for fluid replacement or antibiotic administration. Healthcare providers may insert an IV to address immediate life-threatening concerns, such as emergency blood transfusions, surgery, or the need for administering poison antidotes. However, an IV may also help boost a patient’s immune system or supply supplemental nutrients. An IV can be lifesaving but also life-threatening when improperly inserted, maintained, or placed. As a victim of IV therapy negligence, you may suffer permanent tissue damage, organ damage, pain, nerve damage, infection, or other severe complications. If you sustained negligent IV treatment injuries, it is extremely important to understand the risks and complications associated with IV negligence and the legal recourse available for those who suffer harm due to this form of medical malpractice. You may have options to recover compensation from those responsible, including compensation for pain, suffering, lost income, permanent disabilities, medical expenses, and more.
What Happens in IV Treatment?
An IV is a thin tube injected by a needle under the skin and into a vein. The device enables medications, saline solution, vitamins, blood, and other fluids a patient needs to go directly into the bloodstream for faster or necessary medical treatment.
Leading Uses for IV Therapy
The quickest way to deliver fluids into the bloodstream is through the veins, so an IV transports fluids into a patient’s bloodstream to treat conditions like dehydration, for example. In cancer treatment, an IV delivers chemotherapy into the bloodstream to kill cancer cells, while IV’s are commonly used to deliver anesthesia or pain-relieving medications during or after surgery. Other IV uses include rapid replenishment or replacement of red blood cells by blood transfusion or parenteral (intravenous) nutrition to malnourished individuals or those unable to eat.
What can go Wrong with IV Negligence?
When a healthcare provider does not properly place an IV or fails to recognize that it has been dislodged, IV infiltration, infection, or nerve damage may occur. Correct IV placement and maintenance can prevent complications that can lead to significant harm, including long-term disability. Avoiding IV therapy injuries takes expertise and precautions from the healthcare provider. Incorrect placement of the IV or negligent monitoring of the IV site may cause patients to develop infections or IV leaks that can damage their body permanently or even end fatally.
Overview of Infection from IV Therapy
IV negligence that causes infections from non-hygienic practices, leaving an IV in too long, or bacteria from the tube getting into the bloodstream can seriously harm someone. An infection may develop at the injection site and stay local to the site, while a systemic infection spreads throughout the body. Common bacteria that enter a patient’s bloodstream from an IV include staphylococcus aureus, which lives on the skin. Less common is the E. coli bacteria, which infects the intestines or urinary tract.
IV Errors that May Cause Infection
IV errors may cause infections when healthcare personnel fail to properly disinfect a patient’s skin before injecting an IV. Washing the injection site skin with disinfectant prevents skin bacteria from entering the body. Additionally, non-sterile equipment can cause patient infections. IV equipment, including the catheter tube and fluid, come sterilized by the manufacturer but can become contaminated with bacteria when expired or improperly cleaned before use by healthcare personnel.
Neglect in maintaining an IV site is also a potential cause of infection. Leaving an IV in too long without replacement or adjustment to avoid dislodging the IV or exposing the injection site to bacteria can result in infection.
Potential Consequences of Negligent IV Infection
Besides redness, swelling, and burning that stays at the injection site (local), a patient with an infection may experience high fevers, chills, increased heart rate, and signs of sepsis, including confusion, shortness of breath, and extreme pain, when the infection spreads through blood throughout the body. If left untreated, an infection can severely damage a person’s organs or tissue. Sepsis is a severe infection that develops from an infection that lingers without prompt treatment. A septic infection harms tissue, which can be fatal when it damages the heart or lungs. Necrosis, which is dead tissue that might be surgically removed, may also occur. The most severe complication that may occur is organ failure and death.
Best Practices for IV Infection Prevention and Proper Care
Diligent healthcare workers follow best practices in aseptic technique and monitoring to avoid IV infections. Nurses administering an IV must disinfect their hands and IV injection device with alcohol or other disinfectant before administering an IV. They must also monitor the IV site for problems and remove the IV promptly when treatment ends.
IV Infiltration Explained
IV infiltration occurs when a fluid introduced into a patient’s vein leaks. A poorly placed or dislodged IV may leak fluid into the tissue surrounding the vein, leaving the patient with painful swelling and redness around the injection site. However, some leaking medications can damage tissue, which is called extravasation. Fluids harmful to tissue are typically medications or other fluids that irritate or damage tissue, leading to pain, swelling, redness, blistering, or dead tissue. Negligent IV therapy can also cause an infection at the injection site, which can be painful. Some patients experience inflammation, pus oozing from the site, and nerve damage.
Types of Negligence Leading to IV Infiltration
A nurse or technician inserting an IV must choose the appropriate insertion site, ideally in a vein that securely holds the catheter tube. A vein located where a patient flexes muscles, like the inside of an elbow, may cause the needle to dislodge. Misplacement of an IV can lead to devastating results. Further, proper IV size and placement can avoid infiltration by ensuring the catheter is not too large for the vein or is the appropriate size for the procedure. For example, a vein suitable for receiving saline solution may not be the same for administering chemotherapy throughout the body. As such, using the wrong-sized IV for a given patient or treatment can increase the likelihood of infiltration.
Diligent monitoring also prevents complications when an IV dislodges, infiltrates, or causes infection. A vigilant nurse may see swelling at the site and take action to prevent or treat a developing infection or infiltration. Catching a problem before it develops can avoid nerve damage and dead tissue that can cause long-term or permanent health damage. Failure to monitor is a leading source of negligence in IV infiltration cases.
Possible Complications from IV Infiltration
If you experience pain, burning, or swelling around the IV needle, it may be IV infiltration. Other symptoms include cold and clammy skin. Quick detection and treatment of IV infiltration may leave no lasting effects. If left untreated, infiltration may result in tissue necrosis, requiring surgical intervention, cause permanent scarring, or leave temporary or permanent nerve damage when leaked medications or other irritants inflame and damage tissue around the IV site or in other regions of the body. Other serious complications from infiltration include compartment syndrome, amputation, damage to the skin, ruptured veins, and eventual death.
Strategies to Avoid IV Infiltration and Serious Injuries
Avoiding IV infiltration requires expertise and vigilance. A nurse or medical technician must know the proper technique to place the appropriate catheter for its intended purpose. In other words, leaks are less likely when the catheter is the right size for the vein and IV solution. So, knowing which vein to pierce and where is crucial.
Once inserted, a patient may inadvertently dislodge it with movement, causing infiltration. Therefore, medical staff must monitor the IV site, especially for long-term IVs. This allows a medical staff member to recognize the signs of infiltration and remove the IV quickly.
Understanding Nerve Damage from IV Therapy
Another consequence of negligent IV treatment is nerve damage from poor insertion technique or negligent monitoring. For example, a medical provider may inject the catheter into a nerve rather than the vein or incorrectly place the tube into a vein, which can damage nearby nerves. When incorrectly placed, the catheter tube may press on surrounding tissue or leak, causing infiltration and compression on nerves neighboring the insertion site. Nerve damage may appear as pain, tingling, numbness, or, in severe cases, chronic pain, paralysis, and reduced functioning of the damaged area.
Possible Results of Negligent IV-Related Nerve Damage
When IV therapy negligence causes nerve damage that does not receive prompt treatment, Chronic Pain Syndrome (CRPS) may be the result. CRPS happens when the brain sends persistent pain signals to the defective nerve and cannot shut off. The effect is chronic pain, often debilitating.
A damaged nerve can also affect the movement or functioning of the area containing the nerve. For example, a damaged nerve in the wrist may affect wrist flexion or finger movements, requiring long-term physical therapy. Ultimately, IV-induced nerve damage can impair mobility or function in the affected area for sufferers for life.
Techniques for IV Nerve Damage Prevention and Mitigation
As with other IV therapy-related injuries, prevention is the best cure. Competent nurses know how to correctly place and insert an IV precisely to avoid damaging adjacent nerves. Afterward, the competent provider watches for potential nerve damage and acts immediately to avoid damage when nerve damage is apparent by removing or moving the IV unit.
Rights of Patients Harmed by IV Negligence in New Jersey
Individuals with injuries or complications caused by negligent IV treatment have the right to file a medical malpractice claim through which they can hold negligent medical providers accountable and recover compensation. In addition to lost income while out of work, you may also recover your costs for medical expenses, including hospital or other medical bills due to the injury, pharmacy costs, and therapy outlays. You may require long-term rehabilitative care that adds up financially. Those costs are covered, too, as well as money for the pain and suffering you or your loved one endured. Necessary accommodations and devices such as wheelchairs can also be compensated when people suffer permanent disabilities.
Deadline to File a Claim for Negligent IV Injuries in NJ
The statute of limitations to file a medical malpractice claim for injuries resulting from IV negligence is two years from the date of your injury, the date of your discovering said injuries, or the date that you reasonably could have identified such complications. If your child suffered injuries from IV therapy negligence at birth, you have until the child turns 13 to file a claim or until the minor turns 18 if the injury occurred beyond birth.
Proving an IV Negligence Lawsuit to Obtain the Compensation You Deserve
Filing a claim is not enough to receive compensation. You must support your claim with medical records showing what happened to you before, during, and after your IV therapy, including your doctor’s and nurse’s notes in your medical chart. You also need to prove that a medical provider was negligent, meaning they diverted from the standard care and practices that other medical providers adhere to for IV therapy. A medical expert attests to the standard of care and offers their opinion about whether the treating nurse, technician, or doctor fell below the standard in your case.
Your medical records, wage statements, paycheck stubs, and other documents are among the essential forms of proof of the harm you or your loved one suffered from IV therapy negligence. Assembling a compelling body of evidence is critical to obtain the maximum compensation in your case, including damages for pain and suffering and long-term care costs.
Suffered Injuries from Negligent IV Treatment in NJ? Contact our Attorneys for Help
In the throes of attending doctor and therapy appointments and dealing with serious pain, seek legal counsel from an experienced medical malpractice attorney at Fronzuto Law Group to fully explore and understand how you or your loved one can assert your rights and take legal action. You may suspect that your IV-related injuries should not have happened in the care of the responsible medical professionals, and our legal team can help to determine whether malpractice occurred in your case.
As accomplished New Jersey medical malpractice lawyers focusing exclusively on this complex area of law, our team is fully equipped to evaluate your case, collect the full scope of evidence to support your claim, and negotiate or litigate your claim for IV therapy complications. We are dedicated to supporting you throughout the legal process and ensuring that all of our knowledge and resources are put to work to secure the compensatory award you are truly entitled to. Contact us online or by calling (973)-435-4551 for further legal guidance and a free review of your case.
