Medical Negligence?

[kesodo]

What is the name of your state? CA

My wife was feeling nauseous and went to see her GP, he told her that he would give her an anti-sickness injection. He left and a nurse came and administered the injection, she was then told she could leave.

20 mins later as she is about 400 yards from our house, luckily on a side street, she loses control of the car - she is unable to move or speak. Again luckily the car banged of one kerbisde to the other. She was finally able to drive the car home after 20 mins but was unable to get out of the vehicle because she simply couldnt ... finally a neighbour came, picked her up, put her in his car and took her to the emergency room.

Am I right in thinking that this is negligence on the part of the GP/ Nurse for not either asking or advising her that she should not drive? It definately put her life, and the lives of others, in danger.

We also have medical bills from the emergency room, which I feel we should not pay for.

Thanks,

 

[lya]

What is the name of your state? CA

My wife was feeling nauseous and went to see her GP, he told her that he would give her an anti-sickness injection. He left and a nurse came and administered the injection, she was then told she could leave.

20 mins later as she is about 400 yards from our house, luckily on a side street, she loses control of the car - she is unable to move or speak. Again luckily the car banged of one kerbisde to the other. She was finally able to drive the car home after 20 mins but was unable to get out of the vehicle because she simply couldnt ... finally a neighbour came, picked her up, put her in his car and took her to the emergency room.

Am I right in thinking that this is negligence on the part of the GP/ Nurse for not either asking or advising her that she should not drive? It definately put her life, and the lives of others, in danger.

We also have medical bills from the emergency room, which I feel we should not pay for.

Thanks,

It would really help to know the name of the medication she was given.

 

[longsally111]

What was it?

I would love to know what med it was. I do not know of any anti nausea med that reacts that way with someone!!!

 

[lealea1005]

I would love to know what med it was. I do not know of any anti nausea med that reacts that way with someone!!!

I guess Compazine IM can, if it's a higher dose and she has a low tolerance. Phenergan can , especially if she's taking other narcs, but we can only speculate until OP stops by with the answer .

 

[barry1817]

What is the name of your state? CA

My wife was feeling nauseous and went to see her GP, he told her that he would give her an anti-sickness injection. He left and a nurse came and administered the injection, she was then told she could leave.

20 mins later as she is about 400 yards from our house, luckily on a side street, she loses control of the car - she is unable to move or speak. Again luckily the car banged of one kerbisde to the other. She was finally able to drive the car home after 20 mins but was unable to get out of the vehicle because she simply couldnt ... finally a neighbour came, picked her up, put her in his car and took her to the emergency room.

Am I right in thinking that this is negligence on the part of the GP/ Nurse for not either asking or advising her that she should not drive? It definately put her life, and the lives of others, in danger.

We also have medical bills from the emergency room, which I feel we should not pay for.

Thanks,

You need the medication, and then you can check what the side effects are, and if your wife had an informed consent signed that acknowledged the risks/benefits of the medication.

It is worth noting that when a patient is given a sedative, and I am speaking from dental experience, the patient is not supposed to drive and is supposed to be monitored for a proper time length to preclude problems from arising.

[email protected]

 

[ecmst12]

If, however, she had an unexpected side effect from a medicine that isn't known to cause problems like this, or if the symptoms she experienced were not due to the medicine but due to whatever her underlying illness was, then it's possible that the hospital did nothing wrong in not advising her not to drive. They can only advise her on side effects that are KNOWN to be a risk.

 

[LAWMED]

Zofran, Reglan, Compazine and Phenergan (and similar drugs) can all cause either dystonic or extrapyramidal reactions. These can present like a stroke, complete catatonia, all varieties of mental impairment, etc. They are uncommon but I would place them just this side of rare.

 

[kesodo]

What is the name of your state? CA

My wife was feeling nauseous and went to see her GP, he told her that he would give her an anti-sickness injection. He left and a nurse came and administered the injection, she was then told she could leave.

20 mins later as she is about 400 yards from our house, luckily on a side street, she loses control of the car - she is unable to move or speak. Again luckily the car banged of one kerbisde to the other. She was finally able to drive the car home after 20 mins but was unable to get out of the vehicle because she simply couldnt ... finally a neighbour came, picked her up, put her in his car and took her to the emergency room.

Am I right in thinking that this is negligence on the part of the GP/ Nurse for not either asking or advising her that she should not drive? It definately put her life, and the lives of others, in danger.

We also have medical bills from the emergency room, which I feel we should not pay for.

Thanks,

After a long delay, apologies. The name of the drug she was given is Phenergan. It was injected and no warnings were given, no paperwork signed.

 

[lealea1005]

After a long delay, apologies. The name of the drug she was given is Phenergan. It was injected and no warnings were given, no paperwork signed.

When your wife registered as a patient at the office, she filled out and signed paperwork giving the Physician permission to treat her illness.

Was you wife taking any other medication at the time?

 

[LAWMED]

After a long delay, apologies. The name of the drug she was given is Phenergan. It was injected and no warnings were given, no paperwork signed.

Phenergan is a very commonly administered anti nausea drug. The reaction you describe while know, is rather rare and generally is not one mentioned to patients (it is difficult to list every reaction for every medication given to a patient especially if all rare reactions must be included).
Neurologic reactions called extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS) may occur. EPS are categorized as dystonic reactions (alterations in muscle tone), sharp, involuntary muscle movements (often limited to one muscle or muscle group), akathisia (subjective restlessness), and parkinsonism. Parkinsonian symptoms are more common in older persons whereas children more often develop the involuntary muscle movements reactions. Dystonic reactions are most commonly seen during the first week of treatment. Akathisia and parkinsonian symptoms usually develop days to weeks after starting therapy.

 

[lya]

After a long delay, apologies. The name of the drug she was given is Phenergan. It was injected and no warnings were given, no paperwork signed.

I cannot imagine any prudent nurse or physician giving an injection of Phenergan and allowing the patient to leave without being under the care of a responsible adult, much less to drive home.

Phenergan will "knock (you) out", not just cause drowsiness.

Standards of care require that patients receiving an injection be monitored for up to 30 minutes, depending on the medication, before the patient may leave the office.

To give someone an injection of Phenergan and allow them to drive himself/herself home is to place the patient in peril and to place every other person on the 'road' in peril.

Consult with an attorney at your earliest convenience. (Of course, it is your wife's claim, not yours.)