Blood Transfusion Injuries

Blood transfusions can be lifesaving, but if a health care provider makes a mistake, the transfusion may cause serious harm to a patient. Errors most often occur in the ER, operating room, or ICU due to high stress circumstances and the need for quick decision-making. There are several potential injuries that can occur as a result of blood transfusions. For example, if the wrong type of blood is transfused, it activates the patient's body's immune system such that the foreign blood cells are attacked by the patient's immune system. There can be additional complications including shock, kidney failure, or even death. At the Dean Law Firm, our Ocala medical malpractice lawyers can help Florida patients recover damages after suffering blood transfusion injuries.

The body relies on healthy blood levels. Blood compatibility (transfusing the right blood type) is just one critical aspect of blood transfusion injuries. Other potential mistakes include improper transfusion or transfer that results in infection or clotting problems, unnecessary transfusions that result in complications, failing to provide a timely transfusion, patient misidentification, or transfusing contaminated or diseased blood.

These mistakes can result in serious injuries and complications such as anaphylactic shock, Acute Hemolytic Transfusion Reaction, immune reactions to transfused blood platelets, nonhemolytic fever reaction, fluid overload, or contracting infections from the disease in the transfused blood.

Risks associated with mistakes can be infectious or non-infectious. However, both can result in serious injuries to the patient. Although there are many safety procedures in place to prevent mistakes, including testing of the patient's blood and tests to make sure the patient's blood can receive the other blood and not attack it, procedures are not always appropriately followed. If you suffer injuries due to a healthcare provider's error, you may have a medical malpractice claim against the provider.

In Florida, you'll have to establish that the health care provider breached the professional standard of care followed by competent doctors in the same geographic area and specialty, and that their breach of the standard caused you injuries. It is usually necessary to retain a medical expert to show that another doctor, hospital or nurse violated the standard of care in conducting some aspect of the blood transfusion and this caused you harm.

Damages you may be able to recover if you suffer blood transfer injuries include lost wages, medical bills, pain and suffering, household services, and mental anguish. If a loved one dies as a result of a blood transfusion injury, you may be able to recover certain damages depending on your relationship to the deceased. For example, if you are the spouse of the deceased and you paid for the funeral, you may be able to recover for lost economic support, lost household services and funeral expenses. If you are a child of the decedent who is under 25 years old, you may be able to recover for pain and suffering as well as lost parental guidance and companionship. In some cases, it may be necessary to retain an economist to reasonably predict future lost wages and assets that would have been accumulated over the decedent's life expectancy.

At the Dean Law Firm, our Ocala medical malpractice attorneys can represent you in a claim related to blood transfusion injuries. We can also bring wrongful death claims on behalf of certain family members whose loved ones died due to blood transfusion errors. Call us at 352-387-8700 or contact us via our online form. We serve medical malpractice victims throughout the state, including those in Crystal River, The Villages, and Marion, Sumter, Lake, Citrus, and Levy Counties. We also help clients with other matters, including car accidents, truck accidents, and premises liability.