When you’re sick or have been involved in an accident, you place a great deal of trust in your medial provider to treat you. You’re completely focused on your health and getting back to your normal routine, but what you may not consider are the dangers of medication errors as a result of medical malpractice or negligence.
Allen tittle here Cleveland’s medical malpractice lawyer folks another type of case that we see a lot of times has to do with medication or prescription errors the most common types of cases that we see are the wrong drug quantity drug interactions with one another when the medical provider knows that the patient has an allergy to the medicine yet still prescribes it those are the three most common that we see some specific examples there’s a drug by the name of coumadin or Werth it’s a it’s a very beneficial drug because it prevents blood clots for those who have a heart condition called a fib however it can also be a very dangerous drug if not monitored properly so folks if you are on coumadin or warfarin your doctor has to be monitoring that drug in your blood levels meaning how thin or how thick your blood is in order to make sure that that drug is therapeutic otherwise there’s a big risk of you bleeding and what I mean by that is certainly if you have fall and hit your head you could have a brain bleed but also just bleeding on its own again very dangerous drug but a very helpful drug it has to be monitored another example that I saw in my own practice had to do with the drug alert allergy so in one specific type of case a client of mine had to have some surgery and she was and she had an allergy to a specific class of drugs of anesthesia she goes into the surgery the drug allergy is in the system but the anesthesiologist didn’t take the time to look at her drug allergy history gave her the drug she had an anaphylactic reaction anaphylactic shock oxygen was cut off to her brain and she suffered a brain injury as a result folks medication prescription errors are very scary and if you were a loved one has suffered an injury or death as a result of a medication or prescription error please give us a call or visit our website thank you take care
What is a Medication Error?
The National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention defines a medication error as “any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medication is in the control of the healthcare professional, patient, or consumer.”
Medication and prescription errors are some of the most common medical errors. 1.5 million people are harmed every year. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) receives more than 100,000 reports of suspected medical errors.
Common Prescription Errors
The 3 most common medication and prescription errors are:
- Wrong Drug Quantity
- Harmful Drug Interactions
- When Doctors Ignore or Fail to Factor in Allergies
Here’s an example: the drug Coumadin or Warfarin prevents blood clots for people who have a heart condition called AFib. If not monitored properly, this drug can be very dangerous. If your doctor was not monitoring your blood levels and you fell and hit your head, you could have a brain bleed.
Another example is a drug allergy. If you have to have surgery but are allergic to a specific class of drugs of anesthesia, your anesthesiologist needs to take the time to look at your drug allergy history. If your allergy is in the system, but ignored or missed, you could have an anaphylactic reaction. This cuts off oxygen to your brain and could cause a traumatic brain injury.
When Do Medication Errors Happen?
Medication errors can happen at many stages throughout the medication-use system. The following stages are common points of error:
- Prescribing a drug
- Entering information into a computer system
- Preparing the drug
- Dispensing the drug
- Giving the drug to a patient
What are the Dangers of Prescription & Medication Errors?
Harmful effects of a prescription error could include:
- Death
- Life threatening illness
- Hospitalization
- Disability
- Birth defect
Our Ohio Prescription Error Lawyers Can Help
We understand that medication and prescription errors are very scary. Our legal team has handled many of these cases and has experience walking people through the legal process. If you or a loved one have been harmed by a medication error in Ohio, contact us to schedule a free strategy session so we can listen to your story and discuss the best course of action.
