Medication Errors

The Dangers of Pharmacy and Medication Mistakes

Prescription drugs are essential tools for treating and curing medical conditions. However, medication errors – such as the wrong drug for the wrong patient – can cause serious injury or even wrongful death.

Medical Malpractice Attorneys

Medication errors can happen at all levels of the health care system. When doctors, pharmacists, nurses and hospital staff members make a medication error, the results can be life-threatening. At Gray Ritter Graham in St. Louis, our GRG medical malpractice lawyers have experience representing people injured by medication errors.

There are five basic factors that must be correct when it comes to medication:

• The medication must be given to the correct patient – not the patient in the next bed or next room.
• The medication must be the right drug. Many medication names look and sound similar, and this can lead to mistakes in filling a prescription. The drug should also be appropriate for the patient’s condition and health history.
• The medication must be given in the correct dosage. Under-medicating and over-medicating (overdose) are serious problems. The prescribing doctor, the pharmacist who filled the prescription, or the nurse administering the medicine may be the cause of the wrong dosage.
• The medication must be given by the right route. Oral medications should be administered by mouth. A medicine that is to be given by an IV in a vein should not be given in an artery. The wrong route can make the medicine ineffective. In the worst cases, it can kill the patient.
• The medication must be given at the right time. In an understaffed hospital or nursing home, a skipped dose can seriously harm a patient.

Medication errors are serious mistakes with serious consequences

If you or a loved one has been seriously harmed by a medication error, talk to an experienced GRG medical malpractice lawyer. We have the expertise, the medical knowledge and the resources to investigate and litigate medical malpractice and pharmacy negligence cases. It costs nothing to call and ask us to review your case. Contact us as soon as possible. We represent clients in Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas and regionally.