Those who have received red blood cell transfusions know that the process can be life-saving for anyone who needs the procedure as a result of significant loss of their own blood. A blood transfusion is one of the most common medical processes daily in the United States and worldwide.
Conclusion: there are critical tests that must be conducted on donated blood cells to ensure that they are free of diseases and infections. Additionally, the blood received must also be checked to ensure that it is the same type as the patient’s blood. If it is not, the body will reject the donated blood, resulting in catastrophic results.
Anyone who has received a red blood cell transfusion but was harmed due to the process deserves to hold those responsible for the injuries. An individual who donated blood may have been injured if their blood pressure, pulse, and temperature were not checked before the blood and plasma transfusion process. At Frischmann & Rizza in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, our injury attorneys have vast experience handling cases that deal with medical conditions resulting from errors in blood transfusions.
If you or a loved one was harmed due to a blood transfusion, contact our medical malpractice lawyers. Contact us today to schedule a free case evaluation with our experienced attorneys. We will keep your best interest in mind because we believe that victims deserve to be compensated for their injuries resulting from the blood transfusion.
What Are Blood Transfusions?
For a patient suffering from a condition or injury that resulted in the loss of blood or blood components, replacing blood through an intravenous line (IV) is known as a blood transfusion. Blood transfusions are very common procedures, and that is why it is important to keep blood banks well stocked with donor blood.
There are many reasons why a patient may need a blood transfusion. These reasons include surgery, injuries, medical conditions such as anemia, cancers (certain ones), hemophilia, and sickle cell disease. Depending on the patient’s situation, they may need a blood transfusion or a transfusion of blood components such as plasma, platelets, red blood cells, and cryoprecipitate.
Potential Errors Made during Blood Transfusions
There are two primary types of errors usually made during blood transfusions – though others could also be possible. These two include: transfusing infected blood and transfusing the incorrect blood type into a patient.
Before delivering blood to hospitals and doctors’ offices from blood banks, the donated blood is supposed to have undergone thorough tests to ensure that there are no infections or parasites. Expert laboratories should test blood that has been donated to make sure that every blood transfusion is safe for the patients who need them. Unfortunately, the tests are not always done, and infections such as HIV, Zika virus, West Nile Virus, and Hepatitis B and C may be transferred to a patient who receives a blood transfusion.
Secondly, the blood transfusion may cause serious harm to the patient who receives it when the sample is mislabeled or misread. If a patient receives a blood transfusion that does not match their blood type, it can be devastating.
Medically speaking, patients with certain blood types are only compatible with receiving blood (or bone marrow) from certain other blood types. If the wrong type is given in transfused red blood cells, the results may be devastating when an incompatibility reaction occurs.
What Happens to Red Blood Cells When an Incompatibility Reaction Occurs?
Patients who have received the wrong transfused blood type may have a severe adverse reaction due to incompatibility. It may be an Acute Hemolytic Transfusion Reaction (AHTR) or a Delayed Hemolytic Reaction (DHTR). Both are quite serious, but the Delayed reaction may take a bit longer to manifest than the Acute.
These reactions are serious because the body begins to attack its red cells. Any loss of red cells may cause the patient to be susceptible to getting a blood clot and internal organs losing their blood supply resulting in damage and stroke.
Do I Need a Medical Malpractice Attorney?
In short, yes. Those patients who have sustained injuries resulting from negligence during a blood transfusion deserve to fight for compensation from the liable parties. Doctors, health care professionals, and hospitals usually have medical malpractice insurance and a host of attorneys ready to defend them against lawsuits. That is where a personal injury attorney who specializes in medical malpractice comes into play for you.
As a patient, you expect your doctors and healthcare providers to care for your illnesses or injuries and get you back on your feet. When that does not occur, and there is serious negligence, patients become victims of medical malpractice. Blood transfusions can be life-saving procedures when done correctly. Still, when a patient is not given the correct blood type or develops an illness due to contaminated blood, they deserve compensation for these catastrophic mistakes.
At Frischmann & Rizza in Pittsburgh, PA, our attorneys will work tirelessly to ensure that your best interests are always kept in front of the conversation. We will not allow the insurance companies to convince you to take a settlement that is well below what your injuries are worth. Our law firm fights for you!
Contact Our Experienced Pittsburgh, PA, Medical Malpractice Attorneys
If you or a loved one has had a blood transfusion in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and sustained serious, life-threatening injuries due to a medical practitioner’s negligence or reckless behavior, contact the experienced personal injury attorneys at Frischmann & Rizza. Our team has the knowledge and expertise needed to fight for your rights as a patient and victim of medical malpractice.
Contact us today for a free case evaluation with our medical malpractice attorneys!
