Successful Lawsuit Based on IV Compounding Error in Hospital Pharmacy; settled for 8.25 Million

Advocate Lutheran General Hospital (IL), which admitted that a pharmacy technician’s IV machine data entry error in 2010 killed a baby, settled the family’s lawsuit for $8.25 million. 

The wrongful death suit alleged an IV bag was incorrectly filled with 60 times the amount of sodium. In a statement in 2011, a hospital spokeswoman said, ""It was determined that a data entry error was made in the formulation of the IV solution. The dosage of sodium for an IV bag from an order had been incorrectly entered into the machine that mixes IV solutions."  Read about this story here.  Another article points out:

Hospitals across the country rely extensively on pharmacy compounding, for products ranging from simple oral capsules and liquids, to sterile products intended for intravenous, intramuscular and intrathecal use. Though the practice of compounding is regulated by state law, with oversight by state boards of pharmacy, the federal Food and Drug Administration has for years taken the position that while “traditional” pharmacy compounding is not of concern, certain types of compounding practices could fall within FDA’s jurisdiction.

To read this article, click here.