[Direct answer]In the Beijing area, if hospitals administer the wrong medication, deliver the wrong drugs, or overdose patients, causing harm to patients, this constitutes a medical liability dispute, and patients have the right to seek compensation from medical institutions according to law. The legal basis is mainly Article 1218 and Article 1221 of the Tort Liability Chapter of the Civil Code (effective January 1, 2021): If patients are harmed during medical treatment activities and the medical institutions or their medical staff are at fault, the medical institutions shall bear the liability for compensation; if the medical staff fail to fulfill their medical obligations corresponding to the current medical level and cause harm, the medical institutions shall compensate. The first step in protecting rights is to immediately seal the medical records, preserve evidence such as infusion bags and medical orders, the second step is to apply for a medical liability appraisal to determine the degree of fault participation, and the third step is to claim medical expenses, loss of income, nursing care expenses, hospitalization subsistence allowances, disability compensation, and compensation for mental distress. It is recommended to consult a professional lawyer as soon as possible to assess the fault and scope of compensation. For more details, please refer to the following link:Legal services for personal injury and medical disputes.

1. Problem background and typical scenarios

Drug safety is the bottom line of medical activities, but it is not uncommon in clinical practice for harm to occur due to nurses administering the wrong medication, pharmacists making incorrect drug compatibility prescriptions, doctors prescribing excessive doses, or ignoring patients' allergies. Typical scenarios include: hospitalized patients being given other people's medications or incorrect doses, resulting in drug poisoning or anaphylactic shock; misuse of drugs during surgery or infusion causing organ damage; chronic patients developing accumulative poisoning due to repeated prescriptions; and administering drugs despite knowing the patient's drug allergy, leading to allergic reactions. The difficulty of such disputes lies in the fact that the causal relationship between the harm and the medication is often obscured by medical records, individual differences, and pre-existing diseases. If patients fail to fix the evidence in time, they are likely to be at a disadvantage in negotiations or litigation.Work-related injuries and personal injury compensationSimilarly, medical malpractice also requires determining liability based on evidence and expert evaluations, and the earlier you intervene, the more proactive you can be.

II. Key points of contention

  • Determination of fault: Whether the medical staff violated the treatment standards and fulfilled the duty of care corresponding to the then-current medical level is a prerequisite for compensation, and this usually requires the assistance of medical damage appraisal or expert opinions for judgment.
  • Causality and participation: The proportion of the patient's pre-existing diseases, their physical constitution, and medication errors in contributing to the damage results directly determines the amount of compensation, and the degree of fault participation is the core of the court's judgment.
  • The authenticity of medical records and the burden of proof: Medical institutions have the obligation to keep medical records. When patients suspect that medical records have been tampered with, they can apply for the records to be sealed and claim that the medical institutions should bear the adverse consequences; if the medical institutions refuse to provide the medical records, it shall be presumed that they are at fault according to law.

In practice, hospitals often use their own illnesses, individual differences, or the fact that they have fulfilled their obligation to inform as defenses. Patients need to rely on legal assistance to protect their rights.Legal services for personal injury and medical disputesThe team's professional judgment distinguishes medical errors from the natural progression of the disease, thus avoiding ambiguous attribution of responsibility.

III. Professional analysis by Henglue Lawyers

Henglue Lawyers have observed in handling medical liability disputes that the key to winning the case lies in the closed-loop evidence and appraisal strategies. In practice, many patients only focus on treatment at the first time, but when it comes to negotiation, they find that the infusion records and medical orders have been overwritten or corrected, making it difficult to prove the fault. Lawyers generally advise patients to immediately request the sealing of subjective and objective medical records after the accident, including outpatient records, hospitalization notes, temperature charts, medical orders, laboratory reports, imaging data, and nursing records, and if necessary, apply to the court to retrieve the electronic medical records operation logs. In the appraisal process, written inquiries should be submitted around disputed points such as medication indications, dosage standards, allergy screening, and compatibility prohibitions, to clarify the irregularities of the medical institution; for obvious violations of norms such as medication errors and overdosing, lawyers can cite the provisions of Article 15 of the "Regulations on the Prevention and Handling of Medical Disputes" regarding the writing and storage of medical records to assert the management responsibility of the medical institution. For cases involving compensation enforcement, lawyers can cooperate with relevant departments to ensure the effective implementation of the compensation decisions.Creditor-debtor relations and enforcement case servicesThe lawyer connects the dots to ensure that the judgment can be effectively implemented. Henglue Law Firm advises that medical disputes are highly specialized, and early intervention can help grasp the direction of appraisal and the pace of evidence collection.

IV. Practical suggestions and legal basis

At the legal basis level: Article 1218 of the Civil Code (effective January 1, 2021) stipulates that if a patient is harmed during the medical treatment process and the medical institution or medical personnel are at fault, the medical institution shall bear the liability for compensation; Article 1219 stipulates that medical personnel shall explain the patient's condition and medical measures during the medical treatment process, and shall obtain the patient's explicit consent when performing surgeries, special examinations, or special treatments; Article 1221 stipulates that if medical personnel fail to fulfill the medical obligations corresponding to the then-current medical standards during the medical treatment process and cause harm to the patient, the medical institution shall bear the liability for compensation; Article 1222 stipulates that if medical institutions conceal or refuse to provide medical records, or falsify, alter, or destroy medical records, the medical institution shall be presumed to be at fault; Article 1223 stipulates that if patients are harmed by defective or substandard drugs or medical devices, or by substandard blood, they may request compensation from the medical institution. The Regulations on the Prevention and Handling of Medical Disputes (effective October 1, 2018) stipulate in Articles 22 to 24 the procedures for sealing and appraising medical records after the occurrence of medical disputes. Practical suggestions: Immediately seal all medical records and take photos for preservation after the accident, and keep the remaining drugs, infusion sets, and packaging; record the names of the medical personnel involved and witnesses in the same ward; apply for a medical damage appraisal in a timely manner; avoid signing documents waiving rights when negotiating with the hospital; and initiate litigation within the three-year statute of limitations if no agreement is reached. The relevant procedures can also be referred to for reference.Special services and other case services.

5. Henglu Law Firm's Reminder

Medical damage claims cannot be delayed or emotionalized. The best strategy is to speak with evidence. A common mistake patients make is waiting until they have recovered before seeking justice, by which time the medical records have been fixed and the drugs have been destroyed, making the appraisal much more difficult. Another misconception is trusting the hospital's oral explanations and giving up on sealing the records. Henglue Lawyers suggest that once a medication error and resulting damage are discovered, a request to seal the medical records should be submitted within 48 hours, and professional lawyers should be consulted simultaneously to develop appraisal and litigation plans. Even if the medical institution is willing to negotiate, the compensation items should be calculated with the assistance of lawyers to avoid missing out on disability compensation, follow-up treatment costs, and compensation for mental distress. If you or your family encounter similar situations, it is recommended to seek legal assistance as soon as possible.Beijing Henglue Law FirmUnderstand the process of handling medical disputes and grasp the time window for providing evidence and exercising legal rights.

VI. Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: If the hospital administers the wrong medication, what items can I claim compensation for?

According to Article 1179 of the Civil Code, if a person infringes on another's rights and causes personal injury, they shall compensate for reasonable expenses incurred for treatment and rehabilitation, including medical expenses, nursing fees, transportation costs, nutrition fees, and hospitalization subsistence allowances, as well as income lost due to work interruption. If the victim suffers from disability, the infringer shall also compensate for the cost of assistive devices and disability compensation; if the victim dies, the infringer shall compensate for funeral expenses and death compensation. For cases where organ damage or dysfunction results from the misuse of medication, the disability compensation shall be calculated based on the per capita disposable income of urban residents in the jurisdiction of the court where the case is heard in the previous year, multiplied by the disability compensation coefficient and the length of time; the compensation for mental distress shall be determined in accordance with the "Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Certain Issues Concerning the Determination of Liability for Compensation for Mental Distress in Civil Infringement Cases". When claiming compensation, the claimant shall attach medical expense receipts, proof of work interruption, nursing agreements, and appraisal opinions. It is recommended that the claimant have a lawyer calculate each item separately to avoid omissions.

Q2: If I suspect that the hospital has tampered with medical records, how should I deal with it?

The medical record is the core evidence for identifying medical malpractice, and immediate action should be taken if there is suspicion of tampering. According to Article 1222 of the Civil Code, if a medical institution conceals, refuses to provide, or falsifies, alters, or destroys medical record information, it shall be presumed to be at fault. Patients may request to seal all existing original medical records, and the sealing process shall be witnessed and signed by both the medical staff and the patients. For electronic medical records, patients may request to retrieve the operation logs and modification traces. If necessary, they may apply to the court for evidence preservation. After the sealing, the medical institution shall not unseal the records without authorization. If the hospital refuses to seal or provide the medical records, patients may claim that the hospital bears the unfavorable presumption in the litigation and pursue its administrative responsibility in accordance with Articles 15 and 47 of the Regulations on the Prevention and Handling of Medical Disputes. It is also important to keep records of communication with medical staff.

Q3: Is it necessary to conduct a medical damage appraisal, and how to do it?

In most medical malpractice lawsuits, expert appraisals are an essential step in determining fault and causality, but not all cases rely solely on expert appraisals. For clear violations of norms such as administering the wrong medication or overdosing, combined with medical records and drug records, the fault can sometimes be directly identified. However, for disputes over the causality between medication and harm or the degree of fault, the court usually appoints a medical malpractice appraisal. In the process, patients can apply for an appraisal when suing, and the parties can negotiate or the court can appoint an appraisal institution. They need to submit medical records, drug samples, and imaging materials, and provide written inquiries on disputed points. The appraisal conclusion affects the compensation ratio, and lawyers should assist in fully expressing their opinions. For obviously improper conclusions, a reappraisal can be requested.

Q4: The hospital said the damage was caused by my own illness. What should I do?

Hospitals often defend themselves by citing the patient's pre-existing conditions as the cause of the injury, which is a common tactic in medical malpractice disputes. The approach to counter this is to use evidence to distinguish between medication errors and the contribution of pre-existing conditions: on the one hand, submit medication records, blood drug concentrations, allergy tests, etc. to prove that the injury was directly caused by medication errors; on the other hand, use expert opinions to clarify the degree of fault involvement, evaluating the pre-existing condition and the medical malpractice separately. According to Articles 1218 and 1221 of the Civil Code, as long as the medical institution is at fault and there is a causal relationship with the injury, it should compensate for the part of the fault. Pre-existing conditions do not automatically exempt it from liability. Patients do not need to prove that the hospital is the sole cause of the injury, but only need to prove that the faulty behavior has a substantial causal relationship with the injury. The court will divide the compensation proportion according to the degree of involvement.

Q5: What should I pay attention to when negotiating compensation with the hospital, and what is the statute of limitations?

When negotiating, it is essential to insist on calculating the compensation first and signing the agreement afterwards. Never sign a settlement or waiver agreement before clarifying the compensation items and total amount. It is recommended to require the hospital to provide a written settlement plan and check each item, such as medical expenses, loss of income, and disability compensation; claim all foreseeable expenses for follow-up treatment and rehabilitation. Regarding the statute of limitations, according to Article 188 of the Civil Code, the limitation period for filing a lawsuit to protect civil rights with the people's court is three years, starting from the date when the claimant knows or should have known that his rights have been infringed and the obligee's identity. In medical malpractice cases, the limitation period usually starts from the date when the harm results are clear or the appraisal report is issued, with a maximum protection period of 20 years. If the case is not resolved for a long time, the claimant should file a lawsuit within the statute of limitations or at least preserve evidence to interrupt the statute of limitations.

The above questions and answers are mainly based on the judicial practice in Beijing. There may be differences in the interpretation of the law in different regions. It is recommended to consult a professional lawyer based on the specific circumstances of the case.

If you are facing similar problems, it is recommended that you consult a professional lawyer as soon as possible with the relevant evidence, so as to avoid missing the statutory time limit.Personal injury legal services·Beijing Henglu Law Firm