When you receiving care from a health care professional, you will believe what they are telling you without taking their word into question - they have after all studied a minimum of seven years to be where they are. If you have been a particular general practitioner for a long time, you don't need to explain all your health risks and allergies. However, this is very important if you go a new health care professional or if you are admitted to hospital for a procedure of some sort. This is vitally important if you are allergic to certain medicines. If you are given the wrong medication, your life is in grave danger. The wrong medication can is some cases mean you feel a bit woozy and unstable, but otherwise fine. However, if you are allergic to an ingredient in the medicine you can go into anaphylactic shock, a life-threatening condition.

The most common triggers for anaphylactic shock are wrong medication, insect bites and foods containing allergens for example nuts or eggs. If you are indeed allergic to something you can suffer a range of symptoms, ranging in varying degrees. In some instances however the symptoms can be life-threatening. The most important things to look out for are swelling of the lips, face, neck or throat. Because of the location of the swelling this can lead to death if medical intervention isn't obtained as soon as possible.

If you were given the wrong medication while under the care of a health professional and you have disclosed your allergy, you may have a case against the health care provider, whether it is a person or an institution. At Adele van der Walt Attorneys we will assist you in making a case against a health care provider if you were given wrong medication. Our experienced and qualified legal advisors will explain how we will assess and proceed with your case.

For more information on this subject, please give us a call at 012 460 3668 (SA)
or e-mail us at linda@avdw.co.za