Hospital Drug Overdose Kills Infant

October ended in tragedy for the family of six month old Amaan Ahmmad. The infant was rushed to Brookdale University Hospital in Brooklyn for treatment of a fever. Emergency room doctors determined the baby had early symptoms of pneumonia.

With no beds available in the hospital, Amaan was hooked up to an IV while in his stroller to receive antibiotics. It was then that a nurse mistakenly adminstered a deadly drug overdose. Instead of receiving the prescribed 80 mg of Zithromax, Amaan was given 500 mg.

While his cousin and caretaker Jhora Akther watched, the baby immediately fell into a coma. According to Akther, “He turned blue. Not even a second. The medicine went in, and he is finished.” The nurse who made the prescription drug dosage error was fired, it does little to ease the family's grief. “Someone's mistake took him away. I can't accept that. In America, that's unacceptable,” Akther said. Gothamist.com reports the family may file a hospital medication error lawsuit.