Medications are designed to help you, not hurt you.
Medication errors are becoming increasingly common as health providers are pressured to provide more efficient care to patients.
What is a Medication Error?
A medication error is a preventable event that leads to inappropriate medication usage that can result in patient harm. This can be caused by lack of knowledge about the patient, inadequate education, human error, distractions or interruptions, and incorrect or absent documentation among many other factors.
Common Types of Medication-Related Errors
• Prescribing the wrong medication for the wrong type of treatment
• Prescribing an incorrect dosage of a medication (such as too much or too little)
• Physically administering the wrong medicine or wrong dose to the patient
• Adverse drug interactions
• Not asking for the patient’s medical history before prescribing
• Staff failing to adhere to a medication schedule
• Lack of communication
• Inadequate patient monitoring
• Prescribing a medication that the patient is allergic to
• Human error
• Not informing a patient of the risks of a medication
• Using a prescription for off-label treatment
A medication error can lead to numerous complications, including long-term injuries or even a fatality. These risks are preventable, which makes it important for victims to understand their personal rights. If you feel you or a loved one has been harmed due to a medication error, you could be entitled to compensation.
To talk to an experienced attorney about your medication error case, contact Potter Burnett Law today. Our firm handles medication error and medical negligence cases throughout Maryland and Washington, DC.