Chemotherapy drugs are dangerous and sometimes highly toxic chemicals that are designed to kill the cancer cells, but that unfortunately kill healthy cells in the process. While chemotherapy is necessary, a chemotherapy overdose can lead to serious injury and - sometimes- can even be fatal if too much of the poison is pumped into your system.
Your doctor prescribes a chemotherapy regimen for you, and that regimen is generally administered by nurses or other medical professionals. If you suffer injury from a chemotherapy overdose, either the doctor or medical professional, or even the hospital where the treatment was administered, may be legally liable.
Chemotherapy Overdose and Doctor Liability
In order for the doctor to be liable for your chemotherapy overdose, several things must happen:
- The doctor must be legally negligent. This means that the care he provides must be below the standard of care that a reasonable doctor would have provided. So, if your doctor administers the wrong dose, prescribes the wrong dose, or employs a staff that gives you the wrong does and doesn't oversee what is being done, then the jury will ask whether a reasonable doctor would have acted differently. If the answer is yes- a reasonable doctor would have been more careful, then you can prove the breach of legal duty
- You must have actually been injured. If you got a higher than normal dose of chemotherapy but it didn't injure you, then you can't recover for the doctor's negligence. If you are injured in some way though, then you can hold the doctor liable provided he meets the negligence criteria.
- Your damages must have been directly caused by the doctor's negligence. If it is the cancer that made you sick and not the chemotherapy overdose, you can't recover.
If the doctor himself wasn't negligent but someone on his staff was when they actually administered your dose, you may still be able to sue the doctor or you may be able to sue the hospital or clinic where your treatment was administered.
Types of Damages
When you are injured as a result of a chemotherapy overdose, if you sue the doctor, you can generally recover:
- Medical bills resulting from the injury
- Lost wages for missed work resulting from the injury
- Pain and suffering and in some cases punitive damages (although some states have imposed limits on non-economic damages, such as California which imposes a $250,000 cap)
- If the injury causes death, the family can sue for wrongful death and/or loss of companionship.
Getting Help
If you have suffered from a chemotherapy overdose, consult with an experienced medical malpractice lawyer who can provide you with information on what your rights are and on whether you can hold your doctor liable.
