Common Medical Malpractice Prescription Errors In Washington

By Hardwick & Pendergast, P.S. on April 26, 2016

According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), medication errors injure nearly 2 million Americans each year. These errors can happen for many different reasons. What’s tragic about injuries caused by prescription errors is that many are preventable. The NIH reports that the most common prescription error–administering the wrong dose of a drug–accounts for over 40 percent of deaths related to medication use.

Common Prescription Errors in Seattle Medical Malpractice Claims

Hardwick & Pendergast, P.S. has handled many Seattle medical malpractice claims over the past 40 years. Here are the most common prescription errors our clients have reported:

• Administering the wrong dose of a medication
• Administering the wrong medication
• Mislabeled medications
• Order communication issues
• Medication compounding issues (drug interactions)
• Failing to warn users about medication side effects
• Poor training of pharmacy staff

Common Errors in Medication Administration

Besides prescription drug errors, the actual administration of a medication can lead to serious injuries. Here are the most common medication administration errors our clients have reported:

• Being given too much of a medication
• Being given too many doses of a medication
• Failing to give patient a medication in a timely manner
• Giving the patient the incorrect medicine
• Failing to keep adequate records of administered medication

Anesthesia Errors are Also a Major Seattle Medical Malpractice Problem

Not many people may realize this until they’ve suffered a serious injury, but even the smallest anesthesia error can cause serious permanent injuries, brain damage, and even death. Here are the most common anesthesia errors we’ve seen over the years:

• Failing to investigate a patient’s medical history for possible anesthesia complications
• Failing to inform patients about risks involved with not following anesthesia pre-operation instructions
• Giving too much anesthesia to a patient
• Failing to monitor an anesthesia patient’s vital signs
• Using defective equipment or misusing equipment

Contact Hardwick & Pendergast, P.S. Today

Hardwick & Pendergast, P.S. is experienced in handling Seattle medical malpractice claims. Let us help you next. We can be reached at (888) 228-3860.