The intravenous administration of drugs is effective and relatively rapid. Unfortunately, mistakes can happen even when medical professionals administer medications to patients.
In some cases, a nurse, phlebotomist or other professional attempting to inject medication for a patient might fail to access a vein, which could have significant consequences for the patient.
Missing a vein can cause injuries
Nurses and other medical professionals receive extensive training to ensure that they can consistently access veins when administering intravenous injections or drawing blood. They practice on special equipment, cadavers and sometimes their own bodies.
Despite that practice, people still make mistakes when inserting needles in high-pressure situations. Unfortunately, those seemingly minor mistakes can have significant consequences for patients. In some cases, coming close to the vein but failing to properly enter it could result in a collapsed vein.
Other times, the failure to properly access a vein could interfere with the success of treatment, especially if the medical professional does not immediately address the possibility of a missed dose or a patient only receiving part of the intended dose.
Errors when administering injections can cause abscesses and infections. In some cases, people may develop nerve damage. Hematoma or clotted blood pooling outside of the vein can also be an issue. In extreme cases, injection errors might even cause compartment syndrome. Particularly when health care professionals do not immediately correct mistakes during injections, their oversights and errors could have dire consequences for the patient.
Pursuing a medical malpractice lawsuit could lead to financial compensation for those harmed by medical errors, including mistakes during drug administration and other injection-related treatments. Patients harmed by poor care standards may have rights when medical errors result in significant consequences.