Adrenaline error 

The next day, Emily was transferred to the ENT (ears, nose and throat) ward and recalls a nurse injecting what she thought was saline into a cannula in her arm. Emily recalls that seconds after the fluid was injected she felt a cold sensation running throughout her body, had a sudden urge to vomit and subsequently passed out. Emily had in fact gone into cardiac arrest, and after two rounds of CPR, her heart started pumping, she started to breathe for herself, and she regained consciousness. An x-ray confirmed that Emily had suffered several fractured ribs.

Emily was initially informed that the cardiac arrest was likely an adverse reaction to an adrenaline nebuliser which she had used that morning. However, Emily had not been given an adrenaline nebuliser that morning, and hadn’t used one since she was in A&E the day before. 

Emily continued to experience pain in her ribs. She also felt scared and low in mood following her cardiac arrest. She underwent an MRI scan two weeks later which confirmed that, thankfully, her heart was working normally and she was discharged later that day.

Following her discharge, Emily felt constantly stressed and was unable to sleep. She found herself unable to stop thinking about the events surrounding her cardiac arrest. Her GP suspected she was suffering from symptoms of anxiety, depression and PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). She prescribed anti-depressant medication and referred Emily for counselling.

Investigation

A hospital investigation concluded that Emily had not suffered an adverse reaction to an adrenaline nebuliser. It was found that doctors treating Emily had incorrectly prescribed intravenous adrenaline instead of nebulised adrenaline. It was also found that the nurse who had treated Emily on the day of her cardiac arrest was aware of the doctor’s mistake but failed to query it. The nurse also failed to follow the hospital’s guidelines when checking, labelling, and administering Emily’s medication. 
 
Had the correct guidelines been followed when administering the adrenaline, the injuries that Emily suffered would have been avoided. 

Emily’s case was taken on by Lucy Mellor, a specialist medical negligence solicitor at JMW, who conducted a thorough investigation which included analysis of the medical records at the time of Emily’s treatment and gathering evidence from independent medical experts. The hospital made a full admission of liability and, after settlement negotiations, Lucy successfully secured Emily compensation in the sum of £48,000 for her suffering.