Should we seek legal action?

Question

My wife just gave birth to my daughter on Aug. 1, 2008 (C-section). Immediately after the birth, the hospital gave my daughter a Hepatitis B shot (this is what they are supposed to do), they also made a permanent shot record with her birthdate onit and gave that to us. On the morning of Aug. 3 a nurse came to the hospital room and asked that we bring our daughter to the nursery for a shot. Now, this is our first child and we know that there are ALOT of shots in the childs first few months of life. So we dropped her off at the nursery for her shot. When we got her back, I noticed that my daughters birth date had been changed to Aug. 3 on her shot record. My wife took the record to the nurses station and asked what happened. All they did was "white-out" the wrong date and put the correct birth date. My wife came back to the room furious. SO i went to the nurses station and asked what happened with my daughter. I was eventually told by a nurse that because it was not recorded inthe computer she did not know that my daughter had already gotten a Hep B shot. So she gave her another one. I asked how the h**l she missed the big band-aid on her leg and after seeing the shot record, why didn't she think to come ask her parents if she had gotten her shot. She could not respond. Now, I after checking with the pediatrician we know that the extra shot is not harmful, but this incident has troubled myself and my wife tremenduously. What if it had been a different shot, or a child that had issues regarding certain shots. What should we do. The hospital is filing an incident report.

Answer 1

Oh yes definitely. Did you not have to sign her record or have to be present while they were giving your daughter the injection?. Iam in the uk.I would be reluctant to leave my children with anyone weather health official or not. Ask as many questions as possible.

Answer 2

Soooo what would be the basis of the suit?  You have no damages.  An incident report should cover it.  

Answer 3

I agree, get a copy of that incident report, any paperwork regarding the shots, and keep track of your own mental well being. These things can take a toll on new parents, be aware of how it affects you. By all means don't go concocting stories. Just gather everything you can get your hands on and put it in a safe place for just in case.

Answer 4

Legal action will be for damages which you will have to demonstrate. Do not take up the court's time claiming non-existent damages or damages that may one day become known.  Just get the documentation now so that if any damage does show up you have one less thing to try to establish long after the incident report has been lost.

Answer 5

You need harm to sue for damages.  You don't have harm.  You can do things administratively, such as reporting the hospital to the hospital licensing board in your state, because records are not supposed to have white-out used on them and a nurse should know the difference between a baby that is two hours old and a baby that is three days old.