Heparin Overdose
The Dangers of a Heparin Overdose
The medical use for Heparin is to act as an anti-coagulant. Although Heparin does not break down existing clots, it does help the body’s natural clot lysis mechanisms to break them down as well as prevent further clotting of the blood. While Heparin has great many advantages as an anti-coagulation in the treatment of conditions such as deep-vein thrombosis or are commonly used for cardiopulmonary bypass during heart surgeries, an Heparin overdose could have grave consequences.
In 2007 it made international headlines when the two-week-old twins of famous American actor, Dennis Quaid, where mistakenly given a massive Heparin overdose which led to their critical condition. Unfortunate as this was, theirs were not the only case of such negligence. When a medical professional is administrating this drug it is of the utmost importance that they make sure that the correct doses are given to the patient as an overdose could ultimately lead to the death of a patient. As soon as such an error is made it is well within the rights of the patient or the family of the patient to seek recourse.
In scenarios where a Heparin overdose caused the suffering of a patient a case of medical negligence can be made against the health care facility or medical professional. It would then be advised that you seek the help of a medical malpractice attorney. Adele van der Walt Attorneys Inc. have acquired over the years the experience, knowledge and understanding of dealing with such cases and offer their services to assist you in seeking recourse when taking on such a battle. For this reason, if you believe that you too have suffered at the hands of medical negligence by means of a Heparin overdose, contact Adele van der Walt Attorneys today.
For more information on this subject, please give us a call at 012 460 3668 (SA) or e-mail us at clare@avdw.co.za
