According to a report presented to the American Society of Anesthesiologists in 2014, the most common major anesthesia complication was medication error, which made up 12% of all anesthesia complications.
Data from 2010 to 2013 revealed that the death rate was 3 deaths per 10,000 surgeries requiring the use of anesthesia. An earlier report found that 1 out of 13,176 cases were fatal due to anesthesia errors, if you included fatalities that occurred within 48 hours after surgery.
How Do Anesthesia Overdoses Happen?
Anesthesia overdoses are rare, but they occur. And when they do, they often cause catastrophic injuries and wrongful death. The reason for this is that anesthesia affects critical bodily functions such as breathing, heart rate, and consciousness; even small dosing errors can disrupt these functions and cause serious harm.
An anesthesia overdose may occur for several reasons, including:
- Administering an excessive amount of anesthesia medication
- Failing to account for a patient’s weight, age, or medical condition
- Combining multiple anesthetic agents without proper adjustments
- Miscalculating medication dosages
- Failure to monitor oxygen levels, blood pressure, or heart rate during surgery
- Failure to recognize signs that a patient is receiving too much anesthesia
- Medication mix-ups involving anesthetic drugs
- Equipment malfunctions that deliver incorrect amounts of medication
Patients with certain health conditions may be particularly vulnerable to anesthesia-related complications. Providers are expected to continuously monitor patients throughout a procedure to protect them from harm.
Signs of an Anesthesia Overdose
The signs of an anesthesia overdose can vary depending on the medication involved and the severity of the event. It can also vary from person to person, or based on age and health condition.
Warning signs of an overdose may include:
- Dangerous drops in blood pressure
- Respiratory depression or breathing difficulties
- Low oxygen levels
- Abnormal heart rhythms
- Cardiac arrest
- Delayed awakening after surgery
- Brain injury caused by oxygen deprivation
Medical providers must monitor for these red flags and respond quickly to complications.
Who Can Be Held Liable for an Anesthesia Overdose?
Several parties may potentially be responsible when an anesthesia overdose occurs. Determining liability often requires a detailed review of medical records and an identification of who was involved in the administration and monitoring of anesthesia procedures.
Potentially liable parties may include:
- Anesthesiologists
- Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs)
- Surgeons
- Operating room nurses
- Hospitals
- Surgical centers
- Medical groups or healthcare employers
In some cases, a single provider’s mistake can cause an overdose. In many cases, there is usually a combination of communication failures and inadequate supervision that contributes to the overdose.
A thorough investigation, conducted by experienced attorneys and medical experts, is often necessary to determine who made the error(s) and whether multiple parties share responsibility for a patient’s injuries.
The Effects of Propofol & Midazolam (Versed) Mistakes
The Institute of Medicine has often reported that anesthesia errors only cause 1 or fewer deaths in every 200,000 cases, but independent researchers clearly disagree. Whatever the true figure, it’s possible that their optimism about anesthesia errors is unwarranted.
Even in non-fatal situations, heavy sedation can stop a patient’s breathing—cutting their brain off from oxygen for several minutes. When hypoxemia occurs, permanent brain damage is a potential (perhaps even likely) consequence.
Below, our Houston medical malpractice lawyers take a look at 3 major anesthetic medications with severe overdose consequences.
Propofol Overdose Effects & History
Propofol (also known as Diprvan) is a sedative designed to help patients relax prior and during general anesthesia. It’s also used for patients who require a mechanical ventilator. By slowing the activity of the brain and nervous system, it prevents laryngospasms and other sympathetic (involuntary) movements that would affect intubation.
The effects of propofol or Diprivan overdose can include:
- Shifts in blood pressure and heart rate
- Seizures (linked to some patients)
- Respiratory failure
- Fatality due to heart arrhythmia
- Fatality due to hypotension (low blood pressure)
Midazolam Overdose Effects & History
Midazolam is a benzodiazepine, meaning it works by affecting the central nervous system to cause sleepiness, muscle relaxation, and minor amnesia.
As a result, doctors use it to reduce anxiety before medical procedures or can be used as an anesthetic to maintain a sedated state. In some cases, midazolam may cause you to lose coordination or muscle strength for 1-2 days after surgery.
The effects of injected midazolam overdose can include:
- Dangerously low blood pressure
- Shallow breathing or respiratory failure
- Impaired coordination and balance
- Difficulty speaking
- Ataxia
- Coma
- Death
Versed Overdose Effects & History
Versed is the name for midazolam’s oral form. The use of oral midazolam carries the same risk as injected midazolam, albeit with less likelihood of overdose.
The effects of oral midazolam (Versed) overdose can include:
- Shifts in consciousness
- Loss of consciousness
- Coordination problems
- Unusual drowsiness
- Respiratory issues
- Coma
How a Medical Malpractice Lawyer Can Help You
Anesthesia overdose cases are highly technical and often require extensive medical evidence to determine what went wrong and why. Generally, expert testimony is required to show that a patient’s injuries were caused by negligence rather than underlying health conditions.
An experienced Houston medical malpractice attorney can handle all the legal aspects of your case, including gathering evidence of medical negligence, coordinating expert testimony, and calculating your damages related to the overdose. They can also help you comply with the unique procedural requirements of such cases and identify every party (from individual providers to large facilities) that share liability for your injuries.
If you or a loved one has experienced any of these symptoms or was severely injured upon waking from surgery, you may have been the victim of anesthesia malpractice. Hampton & King has a full-time doctor and Ph.D. nurse on staff for this very reason—to help you get definitive answers about what happened. Our firm is solely dedicated to medical malpractice to help our clients obtain justice.
Call (713) 352-7214 for your free case consultation. Let us get you answers and review your options today.