HEPARIN OVERDOSE

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CASE: heparin overdose during hernia repair surgery

FACTS: Plaintiff, a 62-year-old plant nursery worker, presented to Defendant Hospital for an inguinal hernia repair. While recovering, Plaintiff developed a clot in his left leg which required the surgical team to return to the OR for an emergent thrombectomy. Ten minutes prior to that surgery, a PACU nurse hung a heparin drip. Following surgery, Plaintiff was transferred to an inpatient wing.

Several hours later, a nurse observed swelling and a large hematoma on the left side of Plaintiff’s groin. His dressings continued to saturate with blood and he began experiencing severe pain. The post-op care team discovered that the heparin drip was administering an excessive amount of heparin. Neither the post-op team nor the PACU had any explanation for why the dosage was set so high. They paused the drip.

Hours after that, Plaintiff was still in so much pain that he told a nurse his groin felt like it was going to split in half. The swelling had increased from the night before, despite the pause in heparin. Plaintiff’s care team decided to return to surgery to remove the pressure, requiring them to drain 400 ccs of blood and place a drain.  

Eventually, Plaintiff’s surgeon investigated the heparin issue and learned that the PACU nursing team had relied upon a value from a blood test that was two years old in order to calculate the initial heparin dose.

DEFENSE: None. A full description and admission of the mistake was documented in the medical records.

INJURIES: The pain and swelling in Plaintiff’s groin did not resolve for approximately 6 weeks. He also developed an infection at the incision site, which was caused by the excess fluid buildup from the heparin overdose. That infection resulted in two subsequent surgeries: one to remove the infection, and another to replace the graft in his leg.

SPECIAL DAMAGES: Plaintiff did not claim any special damages.

SETTLEMENT: The parties agreed to settle for a confidential amount before a lawsuit was filed.

PLAINTIFF’S COUNSEL: Kara Skogsholm (Reis & Kirkland, PLLC)