Misdiagnosis and wrong prescription medications harm children

School sports are an awarding way for young kids to stay physically healthy and to also learn skills such as teamwork, leadership, responsibility and communication. Unfortunately, they also expose your kids to injuries such as bruised knees or mild concussions.

A quick visit to the doctor can easily fix these injuries, but what if your daughter or son isn’t the same after their medications? A nurse or doctor’s negligence can turn a minor injury into life-altering or chronic symptoms.

Signs of a wrong prescription medication

For young kids and teens, it’s especially important to double-check their chart information and perform the right diagnosis. A misdiagnosis will lead to your child receiving the wrong medications. Your child taking the wrong prescription medication even for a short time can cause negative consequences. Parents can prevent their child’s worsened conditions by noticing strange symptoms early-on. Some of these include:

• The healing period has passed, but your child shows no medical improvement.
• Your child’s behavior is abnormal, such as low or high moods, increased aggression, loss of appetite, etc.
• Your child becomes dependent on the medication after the prescribed time.
• New symptoms appear, which causes your child to be sicker than before.
• Your child loses interest in their academics and current extracurricular activities.

Time limit to file a claim

According to section 9-3-71 of Georgia’s annotated code, parents have within five years after the negligence occurred to file a claim or within two years after they’ve noticed the symptoms resulting from the doctor’s negligence. Any claims brought after the statute of limitation’s deadline will be grounds for dismissal.

What is needed to file a claim?

Parents will need to provide detailed and accurate evidence to prove that their child’s medical provider’s negligence violated the standard of care or best practices, which led to their child being worse off. To do this, they will need documentation of hospital visits, proof of misdiagnosis, incorrect medication prescription and a second doctor’s opinion.

While parents might trust that their child’s doctor is doing everything right, mistakes do happen. Your child shouldn’t have to pay the price for someone else’s negligence.