I came across the following case and thought it would be worth posting here:
"Eugene Wright of Meadville says police and medical workers got the wrong man when they transported him to the local hospital this summer and injected him with anti-psychotic drugs against his will, thinking he was someone else.
...
Mr. Wright had the misfortune to have the same name as another Eugene Wright, a psychiatric patient who police said had issued threats at his doctor's office, his suit says.
...
But everyone refused to verify his identity, he said. And if he didn't cooperate, he said, the police officers threatened to hold him down so the drugs could be injected by a nurse. He didn't want to be restrained so, after 10 minutes of arguing, he let the nurse inject him.
After that, according to the complaint, "things were starting to get pretty fuzzy."
Man says he was injected with anti-psychotic drugs in mistaken identity case
Clinical pearl: Always at least check the date-of-birth, especially when a patient tells you they aren't who you think they are. (And even "crazy people" can be right.)
And while the $50 & $25 gift cards were a nice gesture, they will not save you from a lawsuit (and can be taken as acknowledgement of damages and causation.)
"Eugene Wright of Meadville says police and medical workers got the wrong man when they transported him to the local hospital this summer and injected him with anti-psychotic drugs against his will, thinking he was someone else.
...
Mr. Wright had the misfortune to have the same name as another Eugene Wright, a psychiatric patient who police said had issued threats at his doctor's office, his suit says.
...
But everyone refused to verify his identity, he said. And if he didn't cooperate, he said, the police officers threatened to hold him down so the drugs could be injected by a nurse. He didn't want to be restrained so, after 10 minutes of arguing, he let the nurse inject him.
After that, according to the complaint, "things were starting to get pretty fuzzy."
Man says he was injected with anti-psychotic drugs in mistaken identity case
Clinical pearl: Always at least check the date-of-birth, especially when a patient tells you they aren't who you think they are. (And even "crazy people" can be right.)
And while the $50 & $25 gift cards were a nice gesture, they will not save you from a lawsuit (and can be taken as acknowledgement of damages and causation.)
