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Maryland IV Infiltration Lawsuit

IV infiltration is when the intravenous fluid you are getting leaks into your surrounding tissue. How does this happen? It is often the result of medical malpractice because there was improper placement of the IV.

Hylton v. St. Joseph Medical Center

This is an IV infiltration injury case filed on behalf of a Baltimore County man. This case was filed in Maryland Health Claims Arbitration on February 10, 2016. It is the 50th medical malpractice case filed in 2016 in Maryland.

Summary of Plaintiff’s Allegations

The plaintiff is hospitalized at St. Joseph Medical Center in Baltimore County. During this time, he sustains IV infiltration injuries to his right arm due to the Health Care Providers failing to place an IV properly and failing to monitor after the infiltration. He has permanent scarring as a result.

During his stay at St. Joseph, none of the medical staff personnel obtained informed consent from the man before the insertion of the IV. It is surprising the patient did not sign an informed consent unless there was an emergency reason for not doing so. But this is unlikely to be a big deal in this case.

Due to the infiltration injury, the plaintiff requires additional surgery to repair it the injuries. The Complaint is very vague on the details.

Additional Comments

  • What is IV infiltration? What usually happens is there is a movement of liquid that should go completely into a vein that instead goes into the soft tissues that surround the vein. It is called extravasation.
  • All intravenous therapy carries the risk of infiltration of injury to surrounding tissue. Like any other treatment, doctors have to balance the risk and benefits of whether to give an IV, the type of IV site chosen, and the medications, fluid, and chemicals to be administered. IV infiltrations, extravasation (fluid leakage), and tissue injury are known risks to IV treatment.
  • Most IV infiltrations are not viable medical malpractice claims. If you are a victim reading this, you need to know that the vast majority of these cases that go to trial end with a defense verdict. There are no IV infiltration lawyers who just focus on those cases. If a medical malpractice lawyer specialized in these cases, that attorney would have a lot of free time on her hands (and would not be in business long). 
  • But there are meritorious IV infiltration malpractice lawsuits. When you see a meritorious case, you will usually see an expert report filed with the lawsuit – which is the best practice – explaining why the case is different. We did not get that here. (We have never seen the plaintiffs’ lawyers who filed this case in a malpractice case before this one.)
  • IV infiltration vs extravasation: Infiltration is the infusion cannula moving out of a vein; extravasation is leaking out of a vein into the tissue. 
  • The best malpractice IV infiltration cases are typically going to be the failure to monitor after infiltration cases. There seem to be allegations of that in this case.
  • The lawsuit claims this is a res ipsa loquitor case. It is most certainly not. The idea that an IV infiltration injury cannot occur in the absence of negligence is simply not true. (2018 update: the court granted summary judgment on this issue.)
  • This case was ultimately dismissed without prejudice which means the plaintiff can refile the claim.
  • In 2018, there was a $3.6 million verdict against Georgetown in Washington, D.C. after a two-week-old child suffered chemical burns from an infiltrated IV line.

Jurisdiction

Defendants

  • St. Joseph Medical Center, Inc.
  • The University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center
  • The University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center Foundation
  • University of Maryland Medical System Corporation
  • University of Maryland Medical System Foundation

Hospitals Where Patient was Treated

  • St. Joseph Medical Center
  • The University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center
  • University of Maryland Medical System Foundation

Negligence

  • Failed to obtain informed consent before treatment, resulting in medical battery
  • Violated the standard of care
  • The infiltration injury received by the patient was only something the Health Care Providers could have controlled

Specific Counts Pled

  • Failure to obtain informed consent and medical battery
  • Medical malpractice
  • Res ipsa loquitor
  • Vicarious liability

Plaintiff’s Experts and Areas of Specialty

  • Not filed yet. Plaintiff has not filed a request for an extension of time either.

Defendant’s Experts and Areas of Specialty

  • None filed yet.

Getting a Lawyer for Your Malpractice Claim

If you have suffered as a result of the negligence of a doctor, nurse or hospital, our law firm can help you. You are entitled to compensation and justice for the needless harm that has been done. Miller & Zois has a long history of results in nursing home negligence and medical malpractice cases, earning large verdicts and settlements. Call us today at 800-553-8082 to speak to a medical negligence attorney who can help you or get a free online case review.

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