Contaminated Blood Transfusions and Personal Injury Claims

Blood transfusions can be life-saving when executed responsibly. On the other hand, contaminated blood transfusions can be fatal, as one might get infected with diseases like AIDS, Hepatitis (B and C) or hemophilia. If you have received infected blood, you are eligible for filing a claim for personal injury. The most common cause of death from infected blood is a condition called Acute Hemolytic Transfusion Reaction (HTRs or AHTRs).

Every year about 11 million units of red blood cells are transfused into around 3 million patients in the US alone. This is why strict standards are maintained for the monitoring and administering of blood. Transfusion depends on the doctor and not on the patient. Therefore, blood transfusions should be thoroughly checked and tested for various infectious agents. The fact is that even going by tougher blood donation standards and screening processes, contaminated blood transfusion mishaps continue to occur.

One of the studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine revealed that two-thirds of the transfusions are not administered properly. In such a case, your legal rights should be protected. If you happen to develop a serious infectious disease after receiving a blood transfusion, your attorney must know how to help you.

Who is expected to provide evidence?

• Patients
• Dependants
• Bereaved families
• Medical / scientific community
• The government
• Legal representatives

What are the causes of contaminated blood transfusion?

• Inability to identify signs and symptoms after transfusion
• Cross-matching of multiple samples simultaneously
• Insufficient orientation or training to hospital staff members
• Storing of blood for multiple surgical patients in a common refrigerator
• Lack of communication among caregivers
• Errors like patient identification, sample label or even blood label
• Inadequate patient blood transfusion certificate
• Unethical policies such as patient dumping and discrimination
• Lab errors, surgical errors, negligence and unsanitary conditions

In any of the event where a serious injury or death occurs due to blood transfusion errors, the institution comprising of doctors, nurses and other medical care unit members should be held responsible.

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