Negligent Gentamicin Toxicity and When to Claim Compensation
Negligent prescription or administration of the gentamicin antibiotic can cause severe and long-lasting damage to the patient and may justify a claim for compensation.
When to make a claim
If you think that you may be entitled to make a claim for compensation for medical negligence, you should act promptly. Compensation claims need to be issued with a court within three years of the date of the alleged negligence and a thorough investigation of your medical care needs to be carried out by legal and medical experts prior to that deadline.
It is also important to bear in mind that any negligence needs to have adversely affected your outcome if you are to be in a position to make a successful claim.
If this is found to be the case, a specialist solicitor will assess the ways in which the negligence has impacted on your life and the financial losses which you have experienced and will experience in the future.
Gentamicin negligence
An overdose of gentamicin can cause damage to the patient's kidney function, hearing and balance. Consequently, its use needs to be very carefully considered and monitored and all risk factors taken into account before it is prescribed. The patient's weight and existing kidney function are important considerations when deciding whether to prescribe the drug and what dosage would be suitable.
Examples of medical negligence could include a failure to make an appropriate risk assessment, an over-prescription of the drug, a failure to monitor the patient and their dosage requirements or a failure to take account of a recent course of the drug taken by the patient.
Long-term consequences of a gentamicin overdose
Damage to a patient's kidney function, hearing or balance can affect many aspects of life, restricting what the patient is able to do, reducing their quality of life and, in some cases, reducing their earning capacity and independence.
An individual whose balance has been compromised by the impact of gentamicin toxicity may even require personal care in order to achieve many daily personal and household tasks. The psychological impact can also be significant, especially when the patient's symptoms are considered to have been the product of negligence.
Speak to a legal specialist
Glynns Solicitors is a dedicated medical negligence legal practice with extensive expertise in high-value claims.
Contact us today to discuss the possibility of making a claim for compensation with an experienced solicitor.
Please call us free on 0800 234 3300 or complete our Online Enquiry Form.
Our Expertise
Helping Clients Across England & Wales
