Claims for Medication Mistakes in South Africa

Claims for medication mistakes in South Africa can result in much-needed compensation for the victims of serious medical negligence.

Consider the following scenario, based on a real situation.

In hospital, Marie (name changed) was given a medication for spasticity. It turns out that Marie is severely allergic to the drug. This was detected and the medication was stopped.

However, Marie was then transferred to a different hospital. It’s unclear what happened to her medical file at this point; the reports are conflicting.

Another doctor then prescribed the same drug, at DOUBLE the previous dose. This time, the medication led to frontal lobe syndrome. Now, Marie has significant (and likely permanent) brain damage.

Prescription drug errors in South African hospitals

In hospitals worldwide, mistakes involving medication occur more frequently than most of us would like to imagine.

In South Africa, these mistakes aren’t adequately reported or recorded. However, evidence suggests they occur commonly – sometimes with devastating consequences.

According to a report from AxessHealth, an organisation that connects healthcare professionals and the medical industry, it’s estimated that more than 40% of incidents go unreported in South Africa.

Also, a significant number of hospital admissions are due to medication mistakes.

“Data about the prevalence of medication errors (MEs) in South Africa are not readily available. According to Prof Marc Blockman, Chair of SAHPRA’s pharmacovigilance committee and Professor: Clinical Pharmacology at UCT and Groote Schuur Hospital, work they have done in four medical wards in South Africa has shown that up to 8.4% of all admissions in these wards were due to adverse drug reactions and medication errors.

“Fifty percent of cases of severe adverse drug-related events (ADEs) were found to have been preventable. Drugs used in HIV and TB were implicated in one-third of ADEs.”

Types of medication errors

There are a number of ways medication errors can be administered. You could be given:

• the wrong drug
• an expired or incorrectly prepared drug
• the wrong dose
• the right dose at the wrong rate
• the right dose at the wrong time
• medication to which you’ve previously had a known adverse reaction.

Sources of drug errors

There are a number of ways medication mistakes can happen. A doctor might prescribe the wrong drug or over-prescribe the correct drug. A pharmacist might measure, label and dispense the wrong medicine. A nurse or other healthcare professional could administer the wrong medication.

Often, mistakes are due to system or administrative weaknesses, like improper updating or transfer of medical records, ineffective communication, incorrect transcribing of a handwritten order, mislabelling of medication, and loss of patient files.

Anaesthetic errors

Of all the medication errors that result in grave and long-lasting harm, anaesthetic errors are among the most prominent, especially among women in labour.

According to News24, a lack of medical knowledge and experience are contributing to “an inexcusable number of maternal deaths from spinal anaesthesia in South Africa”.

There’s also growing concern about deaths in children due to dentistry-related anaesthesia. This is especially true in district hospitals, where young, inexperienced doctors are left to administer anaesthetic, sometimes with tragic consequences.

When is a medication mistake grounds for a legal claim

It’s important to understand that there are only grounds for a claim for a medication mistake when medical malpractice or negligence led directly to harm to a patient.

Medical negligence occurs when a doctor or healthcare professional deviates – through action or omission – from the accepted standards of practice and care and this action directly causes injury or death.

What to do if you have a medication mistake claim

If you think that a healthcare professional has made a medication mistake and you have suffered harm as a result, consult an attorney who specialises in medical negligence claims.

Not all medical errors are negligent. Claims for medication mistakes are complex and can be hard to prove.

A law practice with extensive experience in medical malpractice and personal injury cases gives you the best chance of receiving the compensation you deserve.