What are common medication errors?

On Behalf of | Jul 14, 2024 | Personal Injury

One example of medical malpractice is when a member of the hospital staff makes a medication error. This person could be a physician, a registered nurse or anyone else who has been authorized to administer medication.

Part of the problem is that patients who are in these medical centers lack the education, training and experience to identify medications on their own. If the doctor gives someone two pills and tells them that they’re supposed to take them every day, the patient will likely just trust the doctor. They don’t know what the pills are supposed to look like. They may not even know the names of the medications that they are taking.

In other words, the medication error doesn’t become clear until there are potentially serious symptoms. This is when the patient could suffer harm due to a negligent mistake.

Examples of frequent errors

To help you understand the risks that you face, consider the following examples of medication errors that could happen in a hospital setting:

  • Giving out expired medication 
  • Providing a patient with an incorrect dose 
  • Giving a patient two medications that have a harmful or even fatal interaction 
  • Telling the patient to take the medication too frequently or not often enough
  • Giving the medication to the wrong patient entirely 
  • Giving out the medication at the wrong time of day. 
  • Prescribing a medication that the patient is clearly allergic to, as is already noted in their medical files. 
  • Not accounting for the patient’s specific condition, such as if they are suffering from liver failure and can’t process certain medications safely

All of these mistakes could have long-term ramifications. At best, the patient doesn’t get the medication they need and their treatment is delayed. At worst, they are given medication that has a fatal reaction. Family members must understand what legal steps to take at this time.

 

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