Medical Errors

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prov1

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Just looking for an opinion...
Earlier last year I was admitted to the hospital due to pancreas problems, which I have had in the past. During this visit, i was put on a morphine pump to control the pain, in which i was getting 10mg per hour.
A couple of days later, I was feeling less pain, so the doctor had ordered the dosage lowered to 7.5mg/hour. A short time later, two nurses came in to lower the pump, which seemed to take them forever to get it right, they spent at least 20 mins trying to figure it out. They even discussed calling someone to help them figure the machine out.
I remember them finally saying to each other that they had figured it out, and left the room.
The next thing that i remember is waking up in a new room, with a crash cart beside me with a doctor standing over me telling me that i would be alright.
Come to find out, the nurses had changed the dosage to 7.5ML/hour instead of 7.5 MG...which i was told works out to be over 35. mg/hour. To this day I am unsure how long that I was out, since a nurse just happened to walk by and notice a dirty towel on the end of my bed and noticed that i was not awake or responsive. When she found me I was bleeding from the nose and not breathing and that a Code Blue had been called...
I have contacted a lawyer and seen many specialists since, and my concern is, although the hospital is willing to settle, what happens if i settle and I occur further complications from this overdose. I have seen the eye specialists and they have told me that there was no damage and that my eyes are good, but sensitive to light.
My problem is that I work on a computer everyday and my eyesight is essential, and although the doctors have told me that my eyesight is good, i have had days that I cannot read or see my computer screen, everything is blurry and I can not read what is in front of me.
Sorry for such a long post, but my question is this, if I do accept their offer, does that limit me to any further action against the hospital in the future if for example my eyesight is lost and it can be proven that it has been a result of the overdose?
Thanks for your opinions.
 
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More info please

A few things in your claim don't exactly add up...for now. Please give more detail regarding the actual events and documentation. Was it believed that the nose bleed and vision issue was a direct result of the OD? Exactly how long had the pump been running before you were found? Was there a patient control device available or was the drip a constant infusion? What other medications did you have on board at the time and how much? What was the MD explanation afterwards? Why is the hospital so eager to settle? Are those nurses (if even nurses) still practicing?

jM
 
I can try to fill in the details as best i can. I believe that the nose bleed was due to the overdose but I am not a doctor and this was not ever disclosed to me, and how long the pump was running before being discovered has never been disclosed to me. My best estimate would be 2-3 hours. The drip was a constant although it did have a bolus on it that l controlled. I never had the chance to use it that day. The only thing other than the morphine was an IV, which was to prevent dehydration and provide nutrition as I was not permitted to eat.
The medical explanation was a "medical error", and was not caused by equipment error. The pump was tested and nothing could be found wrong with it. I was also told that one of the nurses had been fired and the other had been suspended, i was told this while still in the hospital as I spent an extra week in the hospital afterwards.

Since I have posted the original post, i have gotten the report back from the eye doctor that I have seen concerning my eyesight, and he could find nothing wrong with my eyes. Although I am still experiencing difficulty with them. I have always had good eyesight and since the episode, i have had problems with vision while on the computer and as well driving during night time. The eye doctor has said that I should go see a neuro specialist as he believes that eye sight problems could be due to something wrong in the brain (which has me more worried than before now).
Hope this fills in some details that you were looking for, if not, let me know and i can try and fill them in better.
 
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