Man Suffers Injuries Resulting from Unmonitored IV Line During Hospital Stay; Settled for $50,000

A 73-year old man, who checked into a medical center after briefly losing consciousness at his home, suffered injuries to his arm due to extravasation resulting from an IV line that was not properly monitored. The plaintiff was given a 20-gauge IV catheter upon his arrival at the hospital. Since vesicants were being administered, the line should have been checked every 2 hours according to standard of care. However, proper monitoring of the line did not occur and infiltrating potassium – a caustic substance – leaked into the surrounding tissues, causing injury and necessitating the patient’s transfer to a different facility for further treatment. Jeff Milman and Jessica Vanden Brink with Hodes Milman represented the plaintiff and the case was resolved in mediation for $50,000.