Medication errors are consistently ranked as one of the leading causes of medical malpractice. Each year, nearly 1.3 million people in the U.S. are injured due to medication errors. Yet, many don’t register these errors as malpractice until they speak to a medication error lawyer. 

To improve your understanding, Roman & Boock broke medication errors into 8 categories and explained how to pursue a medication error lawsuit. 

1. Failure to prescribe, dispense or administer 

Omission errors occur at all levels of healthcare. Doctors may fail to prescribe a necessary drug, pharmacies may fail to fill a prescription and nurses may forget to administer the dose. 

Whatever the case, these errors leave a patient without appropriate treatment. As a result, conditions can worsen, necessitating a medical error lawsuit. 

A Hypothetical Case

A patient visits an emergency room with an infection. Their doctor prescribes an antibiotic, but the pharmacy fails to fill it. Without treatment, the patient develops sepsis: a life-threatening condition defined by tissue death, organ failure and even death. 

2. Improper timing 

Any medication error lawyer will tell you that timing is everything in healthcare. Despite this, providers may administer a patient’s medication outside its intended schedule. 

This form of medical malpractice causes treatments to fall below their effective threshold, creating health complications and liability in a medication error lawsuit. 

A Hypothetical Case

A patient at a hospital has a documented history of seizures and manages them with medication twice a day. Their nurse provides their medication hours later than planned, leading to a grand mal seizure that same day. 

3. Unauthorized administration 

The right medication may end up in the wrong patient’s hands. Healthcare providers occasionally confuse one patient for another due to charting errors, wristband verifications and other communication errors. 

These errors can result in allergic reactions, toxicity and other unknown side effects that necessitate a medical error lawsuit. 

A Hypothetical Case

Two patients with similar names are receiving care in the same unit. Patient A has high blood pressure, while Patient B has normal blood pressure. Patient A’s blood pressure medication is inadvertently administered to Patient B, causing them to go into cardiac arrest. 

4. Improper usage

Our medication error lawyers have encountered providers who gave a patient the right drug, but used it incorrectly. This often involves administering a drug via the wrong route, such as using an IV route instead of an oral route. Usage errors may cause severe side effects that only a medication error lawsuit can resolve. 

A Hypothetical Case

A pharmacist instructs a patient to take an NSAID on an empty stomach. Not knowing this is the wrong recommendation, the patient follows their instructions. After some time, the patient develops ulcers and irreversible kidney damage. 

5. Incorrect dosage

Occasionally, quantity is the root of the error. A patient may receive a dose that is too much or too little to manage their condition properly, leaving providers liable for a medical error lawsuit. These errors often result in ineffective treatment, causing toxicity, organ damage or other complications. 

A Hypothetical Case

A diabetic patient takes insulin multiple times a day to manage their blood sugar. An emergency room physician gives them an excessive dosage of insulin. The patient develops severe hypoglycemia, sending them into a coma. 

6. Administration errors

Our medication error lawyers have witnessed mistakes made during medication administration. Administration errors range from incorrect IV infusion rates to injecting a medication into the wrong site. These errors are liable for a medication error lawsuit, as they may cause tissue damage, overdose, infection or overall treatment failure. 

A Hypothetical Case

A nurse sets up an IV for a patient but fails to adjust the correct drop rate. The patient experiences fluid overload — resulting in breathing difficulties, dangerously high blood pressure and swelling.

7. Failure to consider conditions or interactions

Providers must always reference a patient’s preexisting medical conditions and current drugs. Failing to do so may lead them to prescribe, dispense or administer improper medication. 

These clinical judgment errors are subject to medical error lawsuits, as they frequently lead to adverse reactions or dangerous drug interactions.

A Hypothetical Case

A doctor prescribes a blood thinner to a patient without reviewing their existing medications. The interaction between the two drugs is severe, causing internal bleeding. 

8. Bypassing dispensing or prescribing rules

Regulations governing controlled substances, documentation, identity verification, patient counseling and prescription monitoring exist to prevent harm. However, our medication error lawyers have seen providers or pharmacists fail to follow these requirements. 

As a result, patients may receive inappropriate, duplicative or unsafe medications for their condition. These errors are liable for a medication error lawsuit as they often lead to overdose, dependence, reactions and life-threatening complications. 

A Hypothetical Case

A physician prescribes a long-term opioid without completing the required risk assessment documentation or a pain management agreement mandated by law. Without oversight, the dosage escalates over time and the patient develops an opioid dependency. 

Contact a Medication Error Lawyer

Medication errors are rarely “minor” mistakes. The consequences of medical practice can be severe physically, emotionally and financially. 

If you or a loved one has been harmed by a medication error, you don’t have to navigate the aftermath alone. Our experienced medication error lawyers are ready to review your case, determine whether the standard of care was violated and help you understand your legal options. 

Take the first step — contact Roman & Boock today for a free, no-obligation consultation.