• Emergency Room Error
• Infection in Hospital
• IV Errors
• Equipment Failure
• Blood Transfusion Injuries
• Laboratory Mistake

Equipment Failure

When medical equipment malfunctions or fails, it can pose critical life-threatening risks to patients. Medical equipment failure, often an effect of manufacturing defects or human error is a form of medical malpractice. Unfortunately, equipment failure occurs more often than we think and can lead to devastating consequences including severe injury or even death.

Medical Error Prevalence

Between 44,000 and 98,000 people die every year as a result of medical mistakes according to an Institute of Medicine report. A more recent study found that 1.5 million Americans are seriously injured as a result of medication errors annually. In many cases, these drug errors are caused by a combination of physician/nurse/hospital negligence in addition to equipment failure.

Types of equipment failure

Numerous types of equipment failure, ranging from heart defibrillator problems to malfunctioned IV pumps, could lead to serious injury or death. For example, a common type of equipment failure occurs when an intravenous (IV) pump has a defective valve, which causes too much medication to be administered to a patient over a short amount of time. Anesthetic machines, blood pressure equipment, cancer diagnostic equipment and x-ray equipment, among others, may fail or be used improperly by health care professionals heightening the risk of patient harm.

Efforts to prevent equipment failure

Many hospitals throughout the US are creating safety teams and developing policies to ensure the safe and correct functioning of hospital equipment. This involves maintaining a list of equipment based on risk level as well as educating and training all healthcare professionals on the proper use and operation of all medical machines in order to minimize equipment failure.

If you or a loved one has suffered serious injury or death as a result of an equipment failure, you may be eligible to file a medical malpractice lawsuit to seek compensation for your losses. Please call the number above or fill out the form to the right to speak with a qualified Orlando medical malpractice attorney who can evaluate your case to determine the best course of action.