Hospitals have paid multi-million dollar settlements to people who were injured by PICC Line Catheters that were misplaced, infected, broke, or caused other serious complications.
What You Can Do & How We Can Help
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting PICC Line Catheter induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know was injured by a PICC Line Catheter, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Defective Medical Device Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
Hospital Pays $2.3 Million PICC Line Lawsuit Settlement for Baby Brain Damage
In June 2017, Golisano Children’s Hospital paid a $2.3 million settlement to the parents of a baby boy who suffered brain damage and an arm amputation after a PICC line catheter was left misplaced for days.
What is a PICC Line Catheter?
PICC stands for Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter. PICC Line Catheters are similar to an IV, but used for long-term blood draws or medications, delivering fluids directly into a patient’s bloodstream. PICC lines can stay in place up to 18 months, which is long enough for patients to complete chemotherapy without as many needle sticks.
What Patients Need a PICC Line Catheter?
PICC lines catheters are usually inserted into a vein in the upper arm, just above the elbow. The catheter is a long, flexible tube that is carefully threaded into the large central veins near the heart.
PICC lines give healthcare providers easy access to the bloodstream, so they do not need to put needles into the patient’s body as often. This is useful for patients who need chemotherapy, IV medications (such as antibiotics), blood transfusions, IV fluids, or blood samples.
PICC Line Placement Errors
It is essential that PICC lines are placed correctly. If the line is accidentally placed in the carotid artery instead of the jugular vein, medications could be sent to the patient’s brain. When doctors do not quickly diagnose the error, it can result in death or life-threatening complications, like strokes, seizures, paralysis, reduced blood-flow to the arms or brain, amputations, and permanent brain damage.
PICC Line Infections Can Lead to Amputations
Lawsuits have been filed by people who had to have limbs amputated when their PICC line catheter became infected. In some of these lawsuits, healthcare professionals failed to recognize the symptoms of an infection and remove the PICC line catheter before the infection spread to their bloodstream, resulting in sepsis or tissue necrosis.
PICC Line Safety Hazards
PICC line catheters are associated with rare but serious side effects, such as:
- Death
- Infection
- Air embolism
- Nerve damage
- Catheter is placed incorrectly
- Catheter moves out of position
- Blood clots
- Amputation
- And more
Research on PICC Line Catheter Safety Risks
There is a growing body of scientific research published on severe side effects of PICC line catheters, such as:
- Nerve damage: “When placing a PICC, selecting the brachial vein as a puncture site is associated with a high risk of nerve injury.” Source: Asymptomatic Penetration of the Median Nerve by a Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter: A Case Report
- Broken catheter: “Fracture and migration are rare but potentially serious complications that can lead to arrhythmias, cardiac perforation, cardiac tamponade, pulmonary embolism, and sepsis.” Source: Embolization of a Fractured Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter to Pulmonary Arteries: A Sporadic Life-Threatening Phenomenon
- Air embolism: In a case report of a 61-year-old man who experienced a massive air embolism, doctors observed “Multiple end-organ damage related to the systemic air embolism was noted, including the kidney, liver, and brain.” Source: Massive air embolism while removing a central venous catheter
Hospital Pays $900,000 Settlement in PICC Line Catheter Lawsuit
In December 2023, a hospital paid a $900,000 settlement to the family of a young man who died after his PICC line catheter was misplaced into an artery.
The 27-year-old man visited Regional Medical Center (RMC) in November 2017 due to nausea and abdominal pain. He was diagnosed with diabetic ketoacidosis, and doctors asked nurses to place a PICC line catheter into his external jugular vein.
But after the nurse mistakenly put the PICC line into his artery, the man suffered excruciating painful complications, including a stroke, paralysis, seizures, a heart attack, and numerous treatments and procedures before his untimely death, according to the lawsuit.
Do I have a PICC Line Catheter Lawsuit?
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting PICC Line Catheter induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know was injured by a PICC Line Catheter, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Defective Medical Device Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
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