Catheter Injuries

To speak with one of our experienced attorneys regarding your potential catheter injury lawsuit, give us a call at (800) 698-4054 for a free consultation. You can also reach us at our Northern Kentucky office by calling (859) 578-9130, our Ohio office at (513) 651-4130, or by completing the intake form found on our website.

What is a Catheter?

Catheters are thin, soft, hollow tubes that are inserted into narrow openings of a patient’s body to serve a certain purpose, including to treat diseases, remove small blood clots, administer medication, or to drain fluids. The most common types of catheters, and the ones most people are familiar with, are urinary catheters. These medical devices are inserted into a patient’s bladder to empty urine and hold it in a drainage bag.

Types of Catheters

Though urinary catheters are typically what come to mind when people think of these medical devices, there are plenty of other uses and types of catheters in the medical community. For example, intravenous catheters, more commonly known as IVs, are used to administer medicine or fluids into a patient’s bloodstream. There are two types of IVs: peripheral venous and central venous.

• Peripheral Venous Catheter – These types of catheters are most commonly used in surgical procedures or for patients who are expected to have relatively short hospital stays. They are typically inserted into veins in your hand, forearm, or foot.

• Central Venous Catheter – There are several uses for central venous catheters. These are used in patients where there are problems accessing smaller veins in the hand, arm, or foot or are sometimes intended to remain inside patients for a much longer period of time, sometimes even several years. They are typically inserted into your neck, arm, chest, or leg. Uses for these types of catheters may include:

• • Chemotherapy
  • Dialysis
  • Outpatient treatment
  • Depositing nutrients (for patients who can’t take food through their mouth, stomach, or intestines)
  • Measuring blood pressure of large veins

How Can a Catheter Cause Injury?

Though catheters can be extremely beneficial and even life-saving for some, they can also lead to serious injury. One of the more obvious causes of catheter failure is due to medical negligence. If healthcare providers do not insert a catheter properly or, in some instances, fail to replace it at an appropriate time, the patient may suffer serious health problems as a result. If this is the case, the patient may file a medical malpractice claim against the responsible healthcare professional.

Another far too common occurrence is the catheters themselves being defective. Whether the defective catheters were a result of poor product design or a problem occurring during the manufacturing process, large corporations are frequently held responsible for complications arising from the use of their catheters. Serious injury may result from problems with the medical device ballooning, expanding, rupturing, breaking off, or completely separating in a patient’s body.