Chemotherapy Overdose: Should I File a Lawsuit?

There is an ongoing debate about whether lawsuits are the right thing to do. Many times, the law does not provide a remedy for a death from a chemotherapy overdose and sometimes the death was not a result of negligence. In those cases, a chemo overdose lawsuit is the wrong thing to do. But in some cases, the death occurred because a physician or hospital was not careful and made a mistake. Doctors are trained to know how to give accurate doses of chemotherapy. Sometimes death or brain damage occurs when a hospital or doctor gives a chemotherapy dose that is too high. Some deaths occur because the chemo dose is increased too quickly. Sometimes a pharmacy dispenses the wrong drug or dispenses too much of the chemo drug. Sometimes a pump gives the wrong amount of the chemo drug. Hospitals and physicians have obligations to give accurate and complete information to patients about chemotherapy drugs. In these cases and others, a lawsuit might be the right thing to do. If a hospital has to pay for a fatal mistake, we believe it will institute safer practices in the future. A chemotherapy overdose lawsuit just might save the next life.