Medication Errors

Serving Hartford, Waterbury, New Haven and Surrounding Areas

The law firm of Trantolo & Trantolo, LLC has years of experience representing those who have suffered a injury as a result of a medication error.
While hard to believe, medication errors account for approximately one-fourth of all medical malpractice cases. This is largely the result of the vast number of medications prescribed each year in this country. It is estimated that there are 2.5 billion prescriptions dispensed by pharmacies and 3.75 billion drugs in hospitals each year.
Medication errors are can be very serious and are one of the major sources of medical mistakes that cause injury or death. Common medication errors include:

• Wrong medication. The patient receives the wrong medication despite the doctor prescribing the correct one.
• Drug name mix-ups. Several medications have similar names which can cause confusion between the physician and the pharmacist. 
• Wrong medication combinations. Many medications cannot be combined because of dangerous side effects or cross-reactions.
• Side effects of medication.  Every medication has some type of side effect. While some are mild, others can be fatal. Fatal side effects resulting from medication errors often occur when a doctor prescribes an inappropriate drug to a person with an allergy to that drug.

Medication errors result in approximately 7,000 deaths and harm at least 1.5 million people each year. The additional expense for treating drug-related injuries occurring in hospitals alone is in the billions of dollars annually. As these statistics demonstrate, the emotional and financial toll on society caused by medication errors is staggering.

Medication errors are among the most common causes of preventable harm to the American public. The number of injury and death due to medication errors is predicted to increase as the pressure on pharmacists to do more work in less time increases.

Symptoms of medication errors include:

• Nausea and vomiting
• Fatigue
• Allergic reaction
• Headaches
• Dizziness
• Cramping
• Loss of control of bowels
• Loss of consciousness
• Stroke
• Paralysis
• Organ failure

Medication error cases may be complex. A medication error case may arise in a hospital and may involve multiple people who were involved in the prescription, preparation and administration of the medication. Accordingly, if you or a loved one has suffered harm as a result of a medication error, contact the experienced attorneys at Trantolo & Trantolo, LLC today for an initial consultation.

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