Eyes of babies burned

Process against pharmacist in the case of Linus

08/17/2013

The case of incorrectly dosed eye drops, which led to the Solingen premature baby Linus to severest visual damage, will be heard in court. One of the two accused pharmacists has lodged an appeal against the penalty order. A date has not been set.

1000-fold too high-dose eye drops
The District Court of Wuppertal said that the case of the Solingen premature baby Linus, who suffered from 1000-fold too high-dose eye drops severe visual damage, is now being tried in court. One of the two accused pharmacists has lodged an appeal against a penalty order for negligent assault. The case is to be decided at a hearing for which no date has yet been fixed. The punitive orders for 6,000 euros for the second accused pharmacist and over 7,200 euros for the treating pediatrician were legally valid.

Three premature babies affected
An incorrect dose of eye drops had caused severe and serious injuries in February 2012 in a Wuppertal hospital in three premature babies. The premature Linus had been instilled in a routine examination a few weeks after birth, the high-dose drops. In this extremely high concentration, the eye drops would accept the corrosive sharpness of a cleanser. According to the investigation of the public prosecutor's office, fatal errors were committed in the fax transmission of the formulation to a Cologne pharmacy by the pediatrician.

Grams instead of milligrams
He would have given the solvent in grams instead of milligrams and the two pharmacists in Cologne apparently did not notice. The two women had the far too high dosage, which was specified in the fax, implemented accordingly. The drops were then instilled into the three preemies and severely injured the baby's eyes. The pharmacists were to be treated with caution because they could have foreseen the damaging effect of too high an active ingredient concentration.

Manipulation to cover up mistakes
The 39-year-old physician, who was seconded to the hospital as a guest doctor from another hospital, would also have tried to conceal his mistake by subsequent manipulation of the fax. However, the Wuppertal district court pursued the charge of document falsification, although the prosecutor would have had expert evidence for it. It was said that the fax was not a document in the true sense, but at most a copy.

Doctor still busy
The pediatrician continues to be employed at the Wuppertal hospital and, according to a spokesman, this will not change regardless of the procedure. The doctor is only one party in one „Problem chain“. The Linus family is considering a civil suit for damages. The boy is completely blind in the right eye and his left eye probably has only schematic vision. Supportive interventions have already been undertaken, but the child is in any case still dependent on extensive medical assistance. According to the family, there has been no apology or demand from the three accused. (Ad)

Picture credits: Melling liudmila