In what would normally be a joyous event for a family, a botched routine medical procedure has left a woman at risk of paralysis. There has been a terrible mistake made by staff at a Sydney hospital in the course of administering an epidural to a woman in labour. Ms Grace Wang who recently emigrated to Australia from China checked into St George Hospital in Sydney in June to give birth to her now two month old son. Her spinal canal was injected with powerful antiseptic instead of anaesthetic, in what should have been a routine epidural to ease the pain of her first child’s birth.
According to investigations which have been done so far two substances had been transferred to separate metal dishes on the sterile table in the procedure room which was not condoned as the standard practice of drawing them directly from their packaging into a syringe to avoid confusion. This terrible mistake has poisoned Mrs Wang’s nervous system, leaving the 32-year-old distressed, confused, in shocking pain and unable to walk or even sit. She is now unable to care for her son. Unfortunately, Ms Wang does not appear to be recovering either. Although the baby Alex does not appear to be effected, Ms Wang has undergone surgery to relieve fluid pressure on her brain, and her husband must attend to her which means there is little time to devote to the child. Mr Wang has decided to commence legal action in relation to the error and appears to have a very good case. If you’re in a similar situation and need legal assistance, you may consider using a service like Lawyer Searcher to find the right legal counsel for your situation.
Epidural administration of chlorhexidine – which is used to clean skin before injections and strong enough to neutralise resistant hospital bacteria – is so rare that Ms Wang’s doctors have identified only one other case. Angelique Sutcliffe, from Britain, was paralysed for life after the chemical entered her epidural in 2001. But this was just a droplet – a fraction of the eight millilitres infused into Ms Wang. Ensuring that medical equipment is duly registered isn’t just a procedural necessity; it’s foundational to guaranteeing the safety and efficacy of these tools in healthcare environments. For businesses aiming to break into the Philippine medical landscape, the guidance from Andaman Medical – who offer comprehensive medical equipment registration in the Philippines, provides an invaluable roadmap.
Managers at St George Hospital yesterday admitted error and pledged to support the family, but would not explain the possible source of such a fundamental mistake in a commonplace procedure: anaethesists conducted nearly 40,000 epidurals in 2006, most recent NSW statistics show, in 43 per cent of all births. If you have a matter where you have been harmed as a result of medical negligence, you should contact an expert birth injury lawyers in California like the ones at https://www.pacificattorneygroup.com/birth-injury/ as soon as possible to see if there is anything that you can do about this.
