How Anesthesia Dosing Errors Lead to Coma or Death

Anesthesia dosing is a complex but critical aspect of any surgical procedure. An anesthesiologist must carefully consider a patient’s entire medical history, as well as their size, weight, and other relevant factors, when choosing the correct dosage of an anesthesia medication. They must also obtain the patient’s informed consent.

During surgery, patients are at their most vulnerable, leaving their lives in the hands of the surgeon and anesthesiologist. Tragically, in rare but significant cases, an anesthesia dosing error occurs and causes permanent brain injury, coma, vegetative state, or death. 

If this happens due to negligence, an experienced Arizona medical malpractice lawyer can pursue compensation for the full extent of the damage.

How Do Anesthesia Dosing Errors Occur?

An alarming medical study reports that medication errors are the seventh leading cause of death, including deadly anesthesia error cases. Although equipment malfunctions can cause anesthesia errors, most dosage mistakes result from human error, such as the following:

• Calculation errors when determining dosage based on weight, or when calculating a reduced dosage for pediatric use
• Misidentifying a medication due to too-similar packaging or unlabeled syringes
• Lack of standardized protocols for double-checking dosage
• Insufficient staff training on safety protocols
• An incomplete patient history, such as failing to obtain information about previous adverse reactions to anesthesia
• Failing to consider an individual patient’s risk factors, such as obesity, sleep apnea, or heart disease
• Fatigue from long hours, insufficient breaks, and a high-stress environment
• Inadequate monitoring of the patient’s vital signs, which might indicate a necessary dosage change during the procedure
• Delayed response to a patient’s change in medical status during anesthesia delivery
• Insufficient maintenance on anesthesia delivery equipment

Anesthetics are among the most powerful medications. A single error can result in irreversible harm, including coma or death.

How Does an Anesthesia Dosing Error Cause Coma or Death?

Achieving the correct anesthesia dosage and maintaining it throughout a surgical procedure requires specialized knowledge, skill, and alertness. A mistake may result in the following dangerous outcomes:

• An overdose may cause central nervous system suppression, resulting in respiratory and cardiac failure
• Hypoxia, or lack of oxygen to the brain causing brain injury, coma, or death

Less commonly, an underdosage of anesthesia may cause anesthesia awareness, resulting in a patient’s cardiac arrest due to pain and panic.

Understanding Medical Malpractice In Anesthesia Dosing Error Cases

Anesthesiologists are crucial to today’s healthcare system. They are doctors and medical providers. This status requires them to adhere to the medical community’s accepted standard of care when medicating a patient. Proving medical malpractice in an anesthesia dosing error claim requires compelling evidence demonstrating that the provider breached their duty of care, the breach of duty caused harm to the patient, such as coma, permanent brain injury, or death, and that the patient or their surviving family member suffered damages from the injury or death.

A successful claim cannot erase the harm to a patient in a coma or to the family of a fatally injured patient, but it provides financial compensation to address the economic losses associated with the injury and brings victims a sense of justice.

At Knapp & Roberts, an Arizona medical malpractice attorney investigates all aspects of the incident, consults with medical experts, and documents compelling evidence of the at-fault provider’s liability. Then, they carefully calculate the total damages to recover the largest possible settlement for the patient or their family.